Hello Sweetie
by lalalyds2
Summary: Some of these oneshots are old, some are new, the characters are borrowed, and the Doctor's box is blue!
1. Hello Sweetie

End of the Universe Darling, and All I See is You

It's night, his companions, the Ponds, are asleep, and he's ready for an adventure. Earlier that day, River had sent him a psychic message to join her, and it had taken all of his willpower not to come immediately. While he knows she would love to see her parents and vice versa, tonight he wanted her all to himself. He's sure she won't mind. She comes into the Tardis the moment it materializes. She slams the door and leans against it. She's obviously been running, but looks barely winded. He turns to her and stops, then stares. She's dressed to impress, and he's definitely impressed. Sleek dress with a dangerously high slit on the side, and killer high heels. Oh, those high heels. He thinks they might just be the death of him. She glides right to his side and leans against him. He's too distracted to see what coordinates she's typed in. She turns to him and gives him a positively sinful smile. "Hello Sweetie." She purrs. "Ready for an adventure?"

It's the afternoon, and Amy has decided she wants a family picnic. The Doctor can't argue and Rory's her husband, so a family picnic it is. The Doctor sets the coordinates to Stormcage, Amy and Rory roll their eyes at his antics. He's practically jumping up and down in anticipation of seeing River. The Tardis lands and the Doctor races out, then races back in to tell them to wait there. Amy shrugs in acceptance, but then goes to the screen as soon as he's out the door. Rory comes behind her and together they watch the Doctor greet his wife, their daughter. It still stings to see their daughter all grown up and know that they missed actually being her parents while she was growing up, but they are so pleased to see her that the pain fades away. They can't hear a word outside, but watching is just as entertaining. The Doctor's arms flail about as he talks, and River just smiles and listens intently, all the while skimming through the pages in her blue book. After a moment or so, the Doctor sonics open her cell and she strides out, looking every bit a queen, even in prison garb. She pulls on his braces and leans up to kiss him. "Ew." Rory says, and covers his eyes. Amy smacks his arm. "Oi, they're married, stupid face! Get used to it!" "I'm her father! I'm never going to get used to it!" Rory says as he rubs his arm. Amy rolls her eyes and looks back at the screen. The door has already opened though, and the married couple strolls in, arm in arm. Amy squeals and throws her arms around her daughter. River laughs and hugs her back. The Doctor starts up the Tardis and rubs his hands together gleefully. "All right Ponds," he says, "let's have us a picnic!"

The next time they meet, it is completely by accident. It's a coronation ball on a planet just on the brink of a civil war. The room is full of bright lights, women in beautiful dresses, and nervous anticipation. The Doctor is here for the adventure, and River is here for the dancing... And some slightly less than legal reasons of her own. They are both dancing around the room, looking for something suspicious, when their eyes catch each other's. River winks and the Doctor blushes. Their legs seem to move without their knowledge, and suddenly, they're in the middle of the dance floor, and a new song starts. It's horribly cliche and utterly romantic, and River intends to make the most of it. The Doctor bows and she curtsies, and the dance begins. During their waltz, the Doctor and River catch up on time lines, totally oblivious to everyone else around them. They danced for what seemed like hours, entrancing those around them with their elegant grace. "I'm surprised you haven't stepped on my toes yet." River murmurs in his ear. "Really River!" The Doctor gasps in mock indignation. He twirls her around and brings her closer than is probably appropriate in the given circumstances. "I'll have you know I am a marvelous dancer. Your toes just seem to get in the way at times." Her eyes gleam. "Oh, so I suppose it's my fault?" She asks flirtatiously. "Yes." He whispers in her ear. "It is completely your fault. You distract me." "Well we must do something about that." She says. He grins at her. She's entirely shameless. He leans closer, but somewhere in the palace an explosion goes off. The crowd scatters and the screaming starts. She sighs. "Perhaps another time, Sweetie." She reaches behind her and seemingly pulls a gun out of nowhere. The Doctor smiles at her in amusement. "River Song, you bad, bad girl. Where ever did you store that gun?" She winks at him. "Wouldn't you like to know." She says teasingly. He grabs her hand and together they run into the chaos.

She comes into the Tardis how she usually does, diving into the pool from somewhere dangerously high up. It's something he's come to expect, and look forward to, though he will deny it vehemently. She takes her time getting changed, and he paces in the control room, impatient to see her already. She knows this, and takes a little while longer. By the time she saunters into the control room, he's worked himself into a tizzy. "Hello Wife!" He says happily, as he twirls around the controls, a flurry of hands and elbows. She smiles softly as she watches him. She hasn't seen her husband for quite a while. Well, she's seen him, he just hasn't known he was her husband yet. She's missed him. He talks nonstop, telling her about the planets he's been to lately, the planet they are going to, and when he saw her last. They are surprisingly close to linear. And she knows her time is running out. Running out of time with him, too quickly to escape, and just slow enough to torture. She walks quietly to his side and gently places her hand over his. His rambling comes to a halt as he turns to look at her. "Sweetie." She says quietly. "Did you miss me?" She looks down, cursing herself inwardly for being so insecure and sounding so vulnerable. She wants to hide the damage, but she can't right now. Because, honestly, she wants to know. He tilts her chin up slowly and stares deep into her eyes. She's blushing, but she can't look away. "River Song." He says. "Melody Pond." Her toes curl happily at her birth name. "Wife. I've missed you." And then she kisses him. And he kisses her back. It's soft and slow, as if they have all the time in the world. They don't, but to them, whenever they kiss, time stops.


	2. I Could Just Slap You Sometimes

I Could Just Slap You Sometimes

"I'm sorry." He says out loud, even though he's the only one there. "I'm sorry." He says again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He says it over and over and over again as if it's some manic mantra. His voice gets louder and louder until he's practically shouting. He punches and kicks the wall nearest to him until he has worn himself out. He slides down until he is sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the abused wall. He mutters grudgingly about not even making a dent. And he hasn't. The wall is fine, except for a few smudges where his shoes had scuffed. There are far more than a few smudges on his hearts. His eyes are wet and his hands run up and down his face. He's so tired. He's been running for ages and ages, it's what he does best, but he's tired. There are so many places he's gone and so many places he's yet to see, but he can't seem to go where he desperately wants to. He's a Time Lord with a Tardis. He laughs bitterly at that thought. Some Time Lord, he thinks. He has all of time and space as his playground, but the time he wants constantly eludes him. He's tired of being late, of letting everyone down, of letting everyone go. The mad man in his blue box... He agrees completely with the mad part. He always does the same thing over and over again, letting people in and loving them fiercely, and he always expects new results. But it never happens. One way or another, everyone leaves him. And it's happening again. She's leaving him. Oh, of course not intentionally, but inevitably. She's going to leave him. And it hurts. But this time it's different, SHE is different. And the way she's leaving is different. It's cruel. It's perhaps the one of the cruelest things he's ever had to endure. And he's had to endure quite a lot. But to see the one you love slowly forget you the more you know them? And realize that they had to endure this too? And then realize you've already passed when they knew you more, and now you realize how much pain you caused them? It's torture. Pure and utter torture. And he doesn't know how much more he can cope with.

He realizes now how strong she had been, how strong she was, how strong she IS. He hadn't realized then how much pain he had caused her, but he does now. And it's killing him. It is precisely his fault too. If he hadn't been so stubborn, so Selfish, she wouldn't have to endure this. If only he had saved her, if only he hadn't even met her, she could have had a happy life. If Only. But she had told him, the first time he had met her, she had told him no. Don't change time. Not one line. Don't you dare.

So he hadn't. The selfish being he was. He didn't even know her yet, but he couldn't let her go. He couldn't let go of her being in his future. And when he met her again... Wow. Just wow.

She was amazing. Stunning, clever, witty, mysterious, flirty, a bit annoying, and brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. He had been perplexed by her. Jumping off buildings and spaceships, always expecting him to catch her, and then twirling around the Tardis, HIS Tardis as if she owned the place. And he loved every bit of it. In the beginning, he had tried not to, but he couldn't help it. She was intoxicating. Weaving her way into his hearts with her big, curly hair and lipstick and spoilers. Ooh, her spoilers. Enough to drive him mad if he hadn't been already. He had always been so desperate to know who she was back then. And when he had finally found out... It was just wow all over again. She was like him. She was LIKE him! Not quite Time Lord, but Human Plus. Conceived in the Time Vortex, born of time, Tardis, and desperate wishes. She was a miracle. A once Ever experience, never to happen again and never be replicated. She was a dream come true.

And almost instantaneously, that dream turned into a nightmare. Because of him. It was because of him she was taken by his enemies, raised in cruelty and fear, and turned into a weapon against him. Because of him, his best friends' beautiful baby girl was torn away from them, and then their whole wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey relationship was settled. And he's selfish for not changing that. But he can't, because it's Her. And he's so selfishly grateful for her that he just can't change anything. He won't. Not one line.

He takes a deep breath and sighs. Takes another deep breath and sighs again. He's trying to cope. Really he is. He owes it to her. She's slipping through his fingers, but so had he. She had been so graceful about it, so dignified. Loving him even when he had blatantly shown and told her that he did not know her. He did not trust her. He did not love her. But he does now. Oh, how he loves her. With all of his hearts and soul. But he can't tell her that when she needs him to. All because of their stupid timelines. He just can't find the right one. He hasn't been able to find her. And it's tearing him apart.

"Please, Old Girl," he begs his Tardis. His other wife. The only one who has never left him. "Please let me find her. She's your child, I know. You love her too. So please help me." He strokes the Tardis' console, and the Tardis hums. He steps back and falls into a chair. The Tardis starts working without him. He hums back at her. He knows she will lead him right where he needs to be.  
The Tardis stops, blue stabilizers, "boringers" on. He misses the whooshing sound his parking usually makes, but understands that the silence was probably needed. He steps out slowly and quietly, taking in his surroundings instead of just barging ahead as he usually does. He sees his love, and his hearts swell. There she is, just as beautiful and wonderful as he remembers. But she looks troubled. Not really. Really, she looks crushed. She looks as if he had just shattered both of her hearts. Knowing their relationship, he probably has. He hears her whisper, "And a last time." He squeezes his eyes shut. Yes, he definitely has. He remembers this moment. It had been their first kiss. For him. For her, well she thought it was now her last. His mood brightens a little when he realizes that it's not. It's not her last. Not Their last. Not yet.

He steps slowly into the light. She still hasn't seen him. He says hoarsely, overcome with emotion, "Hi Honey. I'm home." She whirls around and stares at him as if she's a woman dying of thirst, and he's the last glass of water. "And what sort of time do you call this?" She whispers. It's very faint, but he can hear her constant strength through her wavering voice. He doesn't answer her question. It's more rhetorical anyways. So he just smiles and takes her in. She's so beautiful. She's the most beautiful thing he's seen in a really long time. And it has been a really long time. He has been searching for this her for months. He's seen dozens of planets, hundreds of moons, and most recently he's seen a star being born. And she's still the most beautiful sight for his sore eyes. "Hello Sweetie." She says lovingly. It's almost as if her words caress him in their warmth. There are still unshed tears in her eyes, but this time he thinks they are happy ones. "When are we for you?" She asks. She pulls out her blue book and opens it, looking intently at it, as if hoping if she stares long enough the tears will go away. "Have we done-" he stops her gently by kissing her. Kissing her quite thoroughly. Usually he loves hearing her voice and could listen to her all day, but he's missed her so much that words can't cover it. Can't even begin to describe what he feels. So he kisses her. And enjoys it. "Oh." She says, quite breathless as they pull away. "Then it wasn't the last." She whispers the last part. She says it so reverently. A tear dances across her lashes and tries to make its way down her cheek, but he stops the trail with a kiss. Her breath catches. The little droplet tastes of salt. "Don't cry, my love." He murmurs. "I'm not crying." She says stubbornly. "My eyes simply have water in them." He chuckles at that, and she smiles. "Well, we must do something about that." He says, playfully serious. "I hear this eye water can be quite dangerous sometimes. Makes people all sorts of emotiony and things." "I believe it's the other way around sweetie." He gets caught up in the nickname. She stares at him lovingly, bringing up a hand to stroke his face gently. "Oh, my love," she half whispers, "I'm so glad you're here." "Me too." He says, wrapping his arms around her curvy frame. And he is glad. So glad. To prove it, he kisses her. And again. And again. And again! Until they are both breathing hard and can't kiss anymore because they're smiling too hard. She laughs and leans her cheek on his shoulder. He leans his head on top of her bouncy, fabulous curls. He's always loved those curls. He breathes in her scent. She smells of the sun, petrichor, and time. It's what she always smells like and he loves it. He loves her. Plain and simple. But it's not simple. It's horribly complex, and oh so tragic. But he wouldn't change it at all. Because it's theirs.

It's a long time before they let go. Both holding on to other so tightly, almost believing that if they let go, even for a moment, the other will disappear. So they hold on. And neither of them mind. But nothing can last forever, as they very well know, so they separate, but keep holding hands. "Tell me, darling," he says after a while of just staring into her fathomless eyes. "How do you like my young self?" She laughs and nudges him with her shoulder. "I could just slap you sometimes." "Not all the time? I must be doing something wrong." He sasses. "Oh, shut up!" She says playfully. "Make me." So she does. She comes really close to him, flutters her dangerously long and soft eyelashes, and pouts her lips. He's utterly speechless. Her eyelashes are brushing against his skin and he just can't seem to tear his eyes away from her lips. She leans in closer. He leans in closer too. Their lips are so close to touching, when- "I win." She says, and whirls away from him to step into the Tardis. "I hate you." He mutters, still slightly dazed. "No, you don't." She calls. Her voice carries through the door, enticing him to come inside. "No I don't. I really don't." He says as he pushes the door open. She's smiling at him while stroking the Tardis' controls. "I really, really don't." She beams up at him and continues to pet all the knobs and doo-hickeys and thinger-mabobs on the Tardis. The Tardis hums to her child, and her child laughs, completely at home. He watches her turn some dials while she's talking to the Tardis. "I really, really, REALLY don't." She turns to him with a soft look in her eyes. He pulls her to him again and gives her a gentle hug. Her body immediately melts into his. They fit together so perfectly, it makes him ache. But a good kind of ache. The kind of ache he never wants gone. "Where shall we go today, my love?" She asks, her words muffled into his shoulder. "Can we go to Daryllium? I've heard about it, and apparently there are towers there that actually sing!" She says. His hearts stop and freeze. His mind flashes back to so long ago, to their very beginning. "I'm sorry, my love." He whispers. "Not today." "Alright," she says, quite agreeably. "But someday?" He nods slowly. "Someday." "Good. I shall look forward to it." He wants to cry out, to tell her not to look forward to it at all, to do something. But he doesn't. Because he's so incredibly selfish. So he closes his eyes, screws them shut as tight as he can, and holds on to her. Holds on to now. And it's almost enough.

Later, after they had spent days together, chasing adventures, they finally have to return. He lets her pilot the Tardis this time and they arrive a few minutes after they had originally left. She smirks and he mutters that she's a boring driver and they both know he doesn't mean it. He just doesn't want her to leave yet. He never wants her to leave. But it can't be avoided, no matter how hard they've tried. He walks her to her cell and kisses her for one last, but not THE last, time. She sighs and smiles, already missing him. "Run with me again soon, yeah?" He asks, almost bashfully. "Of course sweetie. You and me. Time and space." She winks at him. Then she comes closer and whispers in his ear, "Next stop, everywhere." He shivers and she smiles. She turns to go and he grabs her hand and gives it a light squeeze. She squeezes back and then her hand slips out of his. She closes her door and he's already gone.

In his Tardis he rubs his face and replays her words. You and me, time and space. He sets course for somewhere new and dreams about when he will see her next. You and me, time and space. Next stop, everywhere. He remembers everything, all their precious moments, and whispers, "You watch us run."


	3. Watch Over Me

Watch Over Me

You've just been upgraded to guard Stormcage. There are many soldiers who wouldn't envy you. After all, Stormcage is cold, damp, and it's constantly raining. It is also a high security prison for the most dangerous and notorious criminals in all of the universe. But you are proud to be there. You know it is a job, not for the faint of heart, but for the best and strongest men. And you've been chosen to do it.

When your ship docks at Stormcage, you're a bit surprised. This is definitely not what you were expecting. The facility is clean, well-lit, and heated. You're even more surprised when you're told who you are assigned to guard. "A woman?!" You say incredulously. Your commander, an older, weathered soldier, answers tersely. Dead serious. "Not A Woman. THE Woman. THE River Song. Don't worry Newbie," you immediately dislike the nickname, "I've assigned you with some of the older soldiers. They've guarded River for quite a while. They'll guide you straight and true." You're a bit suspicious, given the way he speaks so familiarly of the prisoner, but you're not one to talk back to a superior. He points to a group of soldiers, and you subconsciously gulp. They are big, burly, and sure to give you hard time being a "newbie".

You are, again, surprised. The other soldiers are good men. Of course there is always a joke or two at your expense, and they all call you Newbie, but other than that they respect you and are always glad to welcome you into their group. They have many a good war story, and there is an abundance of humorous River-watching tales. Oh, the infamous prisoner. You have yet to take your turn to guard, but the stories they weave make you itch with anticipation. The stories seem almost too fantastical and strange to actually be true. After regaining your breath from a side-splitting joke that River had told another guard, you finally ask the question you've been dying to ask since you got here. "So, River Song." You say slowly. "Why is she in prison? The way you speak of her, it sounds as if she's your friend." "She is a friend." One of them says carefully. "Of sorts." "But why is she in prison?" You persist. "You all talk of her as if she is the greatest person you've ever met. So why is she here? What could she have possibly done to earn a place here?" The mood becomes somber. "She killed a man." The guards watch you closely, taking in your reaction. Inwardly, you scoff. That's it? You've heard worse. You've killed several men yourself, in battle, and you're sure they have as well. "Who is it she killed?" You say, suddenly extremely curious. They all look at each other, as if deciding whether or not to tell you. You feel as though you could explode with all this secrecy, and you ask the question again. "Who did River Song kill?" They look at you, and finally answer the question. "The Doctor. River Song killed the Doctor."

You've heard of him, of course. Who hasn't? And while he holds no sentimental value to you, you know how much he means to others. And how powerful and wonderful he had been. And you can't believe she killed him. Suddenly, River Song is no longer a friend, or a story, or even a person. She is an enemy. And you can't believe these men who seemed so good and true could be so deceived. So you decide to no longer listen to their stories. You are still polite and congenial, but you no longer wish to hear about the prisoner, the mad stories she's told, or the stories she's been in. The others might have been sucked into her charms and deception, but you will remain steady. The others shake their heads at you and say you'll change your mind, that she will escape and soon you won't even mind, but you'll prove them wrong. And suddenly, it's your shift, and you know you'll be strong. You'll show them. She won't escape.

She escaped. You are literally cringing with the shame and embarrassment, but it's still true. River Song has escaped. And it's your fault. You had been so sure of yourself when your shift started, but then you reached her cell and everything fell apart.

She had been writing in a blue book when you approached the bars of her cell. She was attractive, and looked nothing like the killer you imagined her to be. Without even looking up, she recognizes you are there and starts talking. "Hello Craig, nice to see you-" She looks up, and sees you aren't Craig. Without missing a beat she smiles and begins her sentence again. "Well hello there, dear. You must be new. Doctor River Song. And you are?" She sticks out her hand in between the bars for you to shake. You just look at her hard and she retracts her hand, still smiling. "Oh, I see. Well hello anyways. Won't you at least tell me your name?" "I don't see the point ma'am. All due respect, but I don't think you and I will share many conversations." It seems as if her grin grows wider. "Oh, you are definitely new here. First of all, I am NEVER a ma'am, and secondly, staying hostile won't help anything at all. But whatever works for you, dear. After all, I am very accommodating." She says this flirtatiously, and you blush. You had heard from the others that she was a notorious flirt, but you hadn't expected her to flirt so readily with you. Nevertheless, you stand straighter and try to look professional. She smirks and returns her attentions to her book. She hums as she writes and you try not to fall asleep. You hadn't been tired at all before your shift, but the atmosphere near her cell is very comfortable and relaxing. The phone rings and she looks up as you jump to attention. She is gracious enough to not chuckle at your momentary flailing in alarm. You pick up the phone as she saunters closer to the bars. You hear someone shout, "RIVER!" on the other end and then hear the click of a severed connection. She chuckles and gestures for you to hang up. You comply and turn back, only to find her dancing around her cell. Everything seems to be a rush of hair and heels, and suddenly it dawns on you that she seems to think she's leaving. "What do you think you're doing?" You ask hotly. She turns to you curiously, and then smiles at your expression. You are almost insulted at her patronizing look, when you realize she is genuinely amused. Now you are definitely insulted. "Oh, darling, you really are new." You almost growl, when all of a sudden she has grabbed you around the collar and she kisses you. You are momentarily stunned. Then the world is floating and she is smiling kindly at you. "Don't worry dear, the effects should wear off in a little while and you'll be good as new. See you in a bit." You see stars and birds and it's so incredibly real, you forget that you didn't pull the alarm, and then all you see is black.

You wake up on a cot in an empty cell. An empty cell? And then you remember everything. She escaped! You sit up immediately and then groan. A pulsing headache greets you alongside the humiliation. You see a blinding light and hear a loud pop. You groan again. She comes up to you and gently touches your forehead. You glare up at her when she runs her hand through your hair. Her hand is soothing though, and it calms your headache. She stops after a moment and turns back to the door. She comes back and hands you a cup and a paper bag. "Here. A cup of tea for your headache, and a bag of jammie dodgers for your trouble." You sniff the tea suspiciously and she chuckles. "There's nothing lethal in it. It's just normal food. Honest." "Like I'm supposed to trust you, woman." You say hoarsely. She just chuckles and you taste what she brought you. It's excellent. It's fresh and nothing like you've been eating for the past couple weeks. She helps you up and then subsequently pushes you out of her cell door. You turn to lock the door, when you realize it already had been. You stare at her but she's just laying on her cot, trying to look innocent. "Sorry about the hallucinogenic lipstick love, but it's almost a rite of passage for all the guards. Besides, the boys would love to hear about it. Send them my regards." You try to decide how to respond. After all, she had come back and you hadn't been out for longer than a couple of minutes. "I'll have to tell my superiors about this." You say seriously. She just looks at the ceiling. "You can give them my regards too. I'm sure they'll be tinkled pink." You move farther away from the cell and sit down. You notice she's wearing a different set of clothes. You sigh. Leaning against the wall, you mutter, "Thanks for the food." She sits up and smiles at you. "No problem dear." Then she pulls out her blue book and starts writing. After a couple of hours, she looks up from her book and notices you just looking at her. You are puzzled about her, and she can tell. "Still awake?" She asks. You nod. "Would you like to hear a story?" Against your better judgement, you nod again. Her voice is melodious and soft, yet filled with joy and energy. The perfect story-telling voice. She looks into your eyes and you stare right back into hers. You see the story unfold in her unfathomable eyes and listen as her voice tells you fantastic dreams that can be nothing but truth. "It all started with a mad man and his blue box..."

The prisoner becomes River in your mind again. Her frequent trips away are inevitable, and now funny. The runaway who always runs back. You look forward to your River-watching shifts. The other prisoners are all cruel, evil people, and River isn't that. Not at all. River is funny, flirty, incredibly intelligent, and welcoming. Always smiling with mouth-watering food in hand, a twinkle in her eyes, and a story on her lips. Sometimes you forget she's in here for a reason. But you're almost glad that she is in here. You respect and admire her, and you can't imagine ever staying here without her. The rain would have gotten to you long ago if not for her. "The storm is something you can't control." She once told you. "It's devastating and absolutely beautiful. It calls to your soul and sings to your steps. It holds all and every memory in each raindrop." She had said those words so reverently that all you could do was smile and treasure the memory of the words falling out of her mouth, an entire universe in her eyes.

You are no longer a newbie. You've been here for quite some time and those who want to leave are now able to. New recruits have come in, and truthfully you love being able to call others newbie. Some of the older soldiers stayed with you, and you often spend your breaks regaling River stories with the veteran guards and new ones alike. One night you had told one of your craziest River stories yet, when a new guard decided to speak up. And of course, that was the night your commander decided to listen in as well. "I don't see what the big deal is." The young man says. You immediately notice he is all muscle, no brain, and oozes arrogance. "She's just another prisoner. Obviously she's a liar. Do you all really believe a word she says?" He looks around incredulously. You resist the urge to punch him. "Clearly she's got a couple screws loose. I say, she's a crack pot, and you all are fools to even listen to her for a minute." You punch him. Close-fisted. It hurts, but is worth it. You nurse your injured hand and glance at your commander. Then you look back down, suddenly embarrassed. "Sorry about that, Chief." "For what?" He replies over his shoulder, already walking away. "I didn't see anything." You smile.

The alarms blare. River's come back. She calls the mess hall phone and you pick it up, smiling. You leave it on speaker phone. She says something sassy about being back, and breakfast, and then promptly hangs up. Everyone laughs, except the newer guy. He still hasn't gotten a turn watching her, so he still hasn't changed his opinion. After the laughter dies down he slams his fist down, and shouts, "So this is funny now? Prisoners escaping? That's funny?" He hurls one last disgusted glare at everyone and stomps out of the room. You follow him at a slower pace. You realize he has gone down to River's cell and pick up your pace. You hear a thud and a groan, and then you full out sprint, desperate to keep blood from spilling. You're not sure if you're more worried about River or the new guy. When you get there, the new guy is sprawled out on the floor, unconscious, and River standing over him, breathing hard and nursing her hand. "Bad day?" You say lightly. She doesn't say anything, just staring hard at the floor. "Don't you know you're supposed to punch people with an open fist?" You say jokingly, trying again. This time, she does smile, but it's small, sad. You gently guide her back to her cell, and close the doors. She finally speaks. "Yes, but a closed fist is funnier. I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." She gestures to the body on the floor. "Oh, him?" You say nonchalantly. "I did that last night too. Granted, I didn't knock him out that time. You must pack a pretty big punch." She genuinely smiles and you inwardly sigh, reassured. "Well we mustn't make that a habit." She says, gazing at the boy's face. "He's much too pretty for that." You laugh. Glad that she's starting to act like her flirty self again. "You okay?" You ask tentatively. "Oh, don't you worry about me. I'm fine." You look at her, and see in her eyes that she's not, but will be. So you just nod, and throw the stupid guard over your shoulder. "Oh, dear?" She calls. You turn your head back. "You won't let him live this down, will you?" "Never." You reply. "Good."

After a good dose of teasing, a lecture, and an evening with River, the boy is starting to show promise. He apologizes to River and is accepted back into our group. Now he has his own stories to share, and laughs just as hard as the others. All of the guards have a soft spot for River, and you are glad. You know she killed the Doctor, but you are completely sure she hadn't wanted to. You've listened to her stories about her adventures; and the crazy man with the blue box fits the description of the Doctor. You have also seen glimpses of a lanky man in tweed and a bow tie come to Stormcage and whisk her away. And you've heard him answer to Doctor. But mostly, you know she hadn't wanted to because of those times. The times that, though rare, are sad enough to break the hardest of hearts. She doesn't hum, she doesn't talk, she doesn't even write in her blue book. She just stares at the ceiling and tries her hardest not to cry. Tries not to look like her heart just shattered into a million pieces, tries to be strong, tries not to sleep. More often than not, she falls into a deep sleep, as if she had gone for days without sleep, and that's probably true. But on her sad days, she has nightmares. She never indicates that she does, but everyone knows of her nightmares. When in a nightmare, she would stiffen and sometimes whimper. You hate those nights. Because even though her whimpers are quiet, they crumble your heart. Because this tigress of a woman is breaking. Protected and guarded by the best, by you, and it's not enough. She's still hurting. In the morning, she'll lift tired eyes to her breakfast, smile, and wink at the guard who brought it to her. But there will be a darkness in her eyes. A haunted look in those endless eyes, but an empty smile will stay on those lips. And out of respect, you will all smile back. But the look is still there.

So there are bad days. You understand. Everyone has bad days. You've have quite a few, although River always has a smile and good food for those days. But there are also good days. And the good days are amazing. The good days make your spirit soar. Because there she is, River Song, with her sassy smile and swinging hips, blowing you a kiss as she lets herself in again. And oh, the stories she tells you. Magic woven words, making the world seem bigger and brighter. Endless possibilities that are in reach. Those are the good days. Laughs and smiles and food that would put any house-wife to shame and the most fantastical stories that had to be true because no one could make that up.

It's your last night in Stormcage, and you wish it wasn't. Sure, you'll be glad to be back in civilization, but you'll definitely miss the curly-haired temptress who gave you smiles and stories and enough memories to last you a happy lifetime. Because you and a few others are leaving in the morning, you get this night to say goodbye to River. You are incredibly grateful. She's become one of your best friends, and it will hurt a lot to say farewell. You almost can't bear to go, but you know it's for the best. So you and all of those who are leaving walk down one last time to her cell, and sit down in front of her cell, completely comfortable in her presence. She smiles with teary eyes, and you all smile misty-eyed back. "So I suppose you're leaving me soon." She says. "Hopefully the new boys will be some eye candy." You all laugh at that, and the melancholy mood lifts. Now jokes are told, and the tears are from laughing. Everyone is talking over each other and you really don't want to leave. You realize you've been happy here. All too soon, it is time to leave. You all stand side by side as you say goodbye. She somehow opens her door and you all roll your eyes. She grins and stands in front of you. "I want to thank all of you." She says. "For being some of the best, most noble men I've ever met. You have all shown me such kindness. You have been excellent guards... Even if I didn't let you guard me." We all laugh at that. She clears her throat and her eyes hold such warmth. "Thank you for running with me. I shall never forget."

And suddenly it's time to go and you're already on the spaceship. The time at Stormcage seems like a lifetime away, and yet just a moment ago. You know you won't forget though. Not in a million years. And then you realize she gave you something else. She gave you dreams, ideas, and the stars. And you realize you can give those things to others. Then it really will never be forgotten. She will never be forgotten. She will live on forever, in the minds and hearts of everyone. She will become the legend she has always been. So your tears stop, your head raises, and a smile lifts onto your lips. You are excited for the planet you will call your home. You have some stories to tell.


	4. University Becomes You

University Becomes You

It's the early days of River Song. She's a student at Luna University and positively thriving. The classes are harder than she had ever taken as Mels Zucker, and she loves every bit of it. Her human plus Time Lord brain has always loved challenges and with all the advanced classes she's taking, she actually has to work. She strives for perfection, and reaches it constantly. She would be every professor's favorite student if she wasn't so exasperating. She is not afraid to question things or state her opinion, and it wouldn't be so annoying if she wasn't usually right. The Doctor visits her every once in a while. He never stays long enough, but his visits are always interesting.

It's the early morning, and River is running late. She is usually early to class and sitting in the front, but she had stayed up to the early hours of the morning critiquing her latest paper. She sprints to her class, hair flying. When she reaches the door, she skids to halt and takes a moment to compose herself. She opens the door quietly and hastens to her seat. She arranges her books and turns her attention to the professor. Her jaw drops. Sitting on the desk in all his bow tie and tweed glory, is the Doctor. She claps a hand over her mouth and stifles her laughter. "Hello class!" He says energetically. "I'm your substitute teacher today! What are we learning?" Whispers and giggles rise from the students. River smirks as she raises her hand. He gestures to her, and she leans forward slightly. "Physics." She winks, and he blushes slightly. It's an innocent word, but when River says it, it sounds positively wicked. The other students are immediately interested. They all know River is an incurable flirt, and they are all happy to ignore their lesson to see how this new professor would react. "Thank you. Physics!" He claps his hands together. "Physics, physics, physics! All right, class dismissed! Have a nice day!" The students laugh, but don't leave. They're waiting for his jokes to subside and the lesson to start. "No, really. Class dismissed. There's no lesson for today." The students cheer and race for the door.

River waits for the room to clear, and then takes tantalizingly slow steps to the Doctor. She has almost reached him when he gets too impatient and swoops her into his arms. She laughs and hugs him tightly. He leans his head down and hums into her hair. "Your teaching skills leave much to be desired." She says teasingly as she pulls away. "I am an excellent teacher." He says lightly. "But I didn't feel like teaching today. I felt like seeing you." She smiles in response to his cheesiness. "You sentimental idiot." He opens his mouth to defend himself but before he can get a word in, his lips are covered with hers. He kisses her too briefly for her liking, bopping her on the nose as he pulls away. She rolls her eyes, but smiles fondly at him. She opens her blue book to compare time lines with him but is interrupted by an explosion. One of her friends races into the classroom, eyes wild as she surveys the room. "River! What are you doing here? Who is he?" She gestures to the Doctor, then waves her hand to dismiss him. "Never mind. You have to leave! A spaceship landed on the quad and a bunch of angry Sontarans marched out and started shooting everything!" River turns to glare at the Doctor. He scratches the back of his head and has the decency to look sheepish. "What?" He says. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Oh, I don't know." River says sarcastically. "You show up to 'teach' and suddenly an angry bunch of Sontarans appear. It's almost too much to believe it was just a coincidence." "Surprise?" He offers weakly. She laughs and he smiles, relieved that she's not actually upset. Another explosion goes off, and the Doctor is pulled back to the situation at hand. "Right." He says. "River, and person I don't know, please wait here. I'll go talk to them." With that, he runs out the door. River counts to five, and starts to follow after him. "River! What are you doing?" Her friend says. "That man told us to stay here!" River laughs and turns back to smile. "If there's one thing that makes me want to come with, it's telling me to stay put. See you later!"

The ship has returned to space, carrying the disgruntled, unconscious Sontarans back to wherever they came from. River and the Doctor watch it fly away. "That went rather well." The Doctor says. River laughs. "Sweetie, my hair is scorched, my dress has a hole in it, and worst of all, I broke a nail!" "Well, it could have been worse." "It would have been nice if you had actually had a plan." "I did have a plan!" He defends. "You improvised." She scoffs. "I planned to improvise!" He says stubbornly. She laughs and his indignant look immediately softens. She kisses him and he wraps his arms around her waist. They pull away slowly, both breathless. "Well, Sweetie," she says, "I believe you owe me lunch, considering you threw my day entirely off schedule." "My pleasure Ms. Song. Wherever and whenever you like." River smiles and starts to run away. "Whoever gets to the Tardis first gets to drive!" She calls over her shoulder. "What-no! River! Wait up!"

River is back at Luna University, but this time she is no longer a student. She is the reigning Professor of Archeology. She's discovered she likes teaching just as much as learning. She loves seeing her students' bright eyes and feeding their curiosity for knowledge. She is every students' favorite professor. Every lesson is as exciting and as unpredictable as the woman herself.

She's running five minutes late. She doesn't worry, she usually starts her classes at uneven times to keep her students on their toes. If there's one thing she's learned about teaching, it's to never let her students become complacent. She stops at her classroom door and pulls out a compact mirror. After a moment of checking her reflection, she deems herself presentable and flings open the door. It bangs open and all eyes in the classroom are on her. "Hello everybody. Ready to get started?" The class murmurs their assent, and she gazes up at them, then she stares. The Doctor is there, sitting right in the middle of the class, completely at ease, as if he belongs there. River smirks at him, and he grins back. "Hello there. It looks like we've got a newcomer. And who are you?" The class all crane their necks to look at the person she's singled out. "Yes, that's me, the newcomer." The Doctor says, enjoying the attention. He waves his hand in greeting. "Name's Smith. John Smith. Don't mind me, I'm just trying different classes. Carry on, it will be as if I'm not even here." River hums for a moment, then starts the lesson. She completely ignores the Doctor, and it really is as if he's not there. He would be bothered by that, but he enjoys watching her teach too much to actually muster up any proper indignation. She definitely knows her profession. She has a remarkable patience with her students, always eager to listen to questions, and always able to answer them. The Doctor almost forgets that he isn't a student, and he has to restrain himself from answering all the questions. She makes him want to impress her.

She finishes her lessons and the students crowd around her desk to talk to her. The Doctor lingers in the back and watches her laugh and talk excitedly with them. She treats all of them as colleagues, and he can tell they love her for it. He waits until the last student leaves before he comes up to her. "John Smith. I trust you enjoyed your time in this class?" River's eyes twinkle as she looks up at him. "Oh yes. It was very interesting. I must say I found the whole experience... Enlightening." "Well then, we must talk about it over lunch." "Professor River Song, are you asking me out on a date? I'll have you know I'm a married man!" "I'm sure your wife won't mind." She purrs, then she kisses him. He hums in the back of his throat when he pulls away, and he finds his hands have mysteriously weaved their way into her hair. "You bad, bad girl." He pulls his hands away and boings one of her corkscrew curls. She wrinkles her nose and then pulls out her blue book. He pulls out a slightly thinner blue book, and they match timelines. They aren't completely linear, but close enough. "Is your schedule clear for the rest of the day? I believe you've promised me lunch." "I have some things to do tomorrow, but I trust you'll bring me back in time. Or you could let me drive." "Oi, she's MY Tardis. I get to drive!" Their banter is interrupted by a crashing sound, followed by screams. River sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Sweetie, who have you ticked off now?" "It's not my fault this time, I promise!" He shrugs his shoulders in a "what can you do?" attitude and pulls out his sonic screwdriver. River pulls a gun out of her desk drawer. "You have a gun hidden in your classroom?" "Don't be so surprised, I have a gun hidden everywhere." The Doctor rolls his eyes and grabs her hand. "Ready?" "My love, I am always ready." And with that, they head straight into trouble.

It turns out the trouble was just a bunch of adolescent Homo Reptilia that had taken a space ship for a joyride. Nothing too serious, but when the ship crashed, the scared, confused, and slightly drunk reptilian teenagers started shooting at everything. It took the Doctor and River hours to get everything sorted out. By the time everything had settled down, it was already late into the night. "That was quite a mess." River stated, as she and the Doctor collapsed into her recently bought house. "Yes, but at least it wasn't my fault this time." The Doctor says smugly. River smiles and heads into the kitchen. The Doctor follows quickly after, almost knocking into her when she stops to look out the window. "You parked the Tardis in my flower bed." She remarks. "Sorry dear." He says sheepishly. She just laughs and pours them glasses of water. He drinks it gratefully and then just looks at her. She finishes her glass and then stretches her sore muscles. "Alright then!" He claps his hands together. "Ready to go?" "Go where, my love?" She asks bemusedly. "We have a lunch date, remember?" "Sweetie, it's almost midnight." "But it's lunch time somewhere else." River smiles fondly at his enthusiasm, then her smile becomes devious as she invades his personal space. The Doctor swallows nervously. "River, what are you doing?" She leans against him and flutters her eyelashes. "May I pick where we go?" She asks sweetly. The Doctor just nods, stupefied. "Good. I'll drive." She pulls the key from out of his pocket and spins away. The Doctor's mind starts working again, and his arms flail about as he tries to catch up with her. "River! That's not fair!"


	5. Merry Christmas And A Happy July

Merry Christmas And A Happy July

You've been traveling with the Doctor for almost a month now. You had met him on a rainy day and he had saved your life. Some water aliens had been trying to take over the city and you had been caught in the middle of it all. You had almost been hit by one of the aliens gun rays, when out of nowhere a man in tweed grabbed your hand and yelled for you to run. So you did. And you helped the mysterious man save the day. And he asked you to travel with him in his police box that could fly through time and space. And of course you said yes. So that's what you've been doing. Traveling with the man named the Doctor in his box called the Tardis. And oh, the adventures you've had! Each place he took you more magical than the last. Every time you thought you had seen it all, he would show you something that blew your mind all over again.

So it's been a while with the Doctor, and you think you know him pretty well. Or well enough. The man would always remain a mystery, but you feel like you've at least gotten used to his eccentricities. He has quite a few of them. You don't mind, you find his quirks rather endearing, like when he insists fezzes and bow ties are cool, or when he rambles on for ages. Sometimes he does things that you don't understand at all though. Every so often he will get a message on his psychic paper and he'll giggle uncontrollably. He will be increasingly antsy as the day wears on, and he will constantly ask you if you're tired. After a while of his constant badgering, you would head to bed and secretly wonder what it was that he would do when you were asleep. Once you had woken up in the middle of the night and gone to the console room to see what he had been up to. You had heard a woman's laugh, but when you had reached the Doctor, he was the only one there. He had looked terribly disheveled, even for him. "Was someone here?" You had asked him, yawning a bit as you stretched your sleepy muscles. "Nope. No one here but me." He had said hurriedly. "I was almost positive I heard a woman's laugh." You had said, unconvinced. "You must be hearing things. Perhaps you dreamed it?" You could tell he was lying, but you had decided to let it go.

It's the late in the afternoon when the mystery is finally solved. You and the Doctor were just flying around through the time vortex, bored. The Doctor jumped suddenly, and clapped a hand to his jacket. "A message!" He cried. "Somebody's sent me a message!" He opens his coat and takes out his psychic paper from his inside pocket. He reads the message, and then jumps up and down in joy. "And the message is from River! River- open all the doors to the pool! Quickly! Come on, hurry up!" You can hear the urgency in his voice, so you follow his instructions as quickly as possible. A figure hurtles past you, and you see a flash of blonde. You walk over to the Doctor and lean against the console next to him. He's bouncing on his toes in his exuberance and you can't help but start to feel excited as well. His happy mood is infectious. After a little while, the Doctor gets impatient. He messes with his hair and fiddles with his bow tie, all the while muttering under his breath about "that mad woman." You hear someone say, "Hello Sweetie." You whirl around, and there she is, the mystery woman. She's an attractive woman with magnificent, curly hair and a wide smile. She saunters forward and the Doctor walks forward to meet her halfway. She grabs his jacket lapels and pulls him into a searing kiss. He dips her and kisses her back. Kisses her quite senseless, in your opinion. You cough quietly, and the Doctor remembers you're here. He pulls away from the woman and turns to back to you, looking flustered, but quite pleased with himself. "Right. Right, you!" He points to you, then points to the woman. "Meet River Snog- Song! River Song!" He corrects himself in a panic, looking at River for help. She chuckles and shakes her head. She turns to you and shakes your hand. "Hello dear. Sorry about him, he gets ever so flustered. Bless." You smile at her and then she turns back to the Doctor. "Sorry to trouble you, Sweetie. You can take me back right now if you want." She says this demurely, but leans into him flirtily, clearly not wanting to leave. "No trouble. No trouble at all. Ooh, River! Let's go to Christmas in 2134!" "Sweetie, it's the middle of July!" "But it doesn't have to be." She rolls her eyes and laughs. "Fine. But I'm driving."

River's driving turns out to be a thousand times smoother than when the Doctor drives. You tell her so, and the Doctor sulks and pouts. River laughs and pecks him on the lips, he instantly brightens. "Why are you two all kissy-face?" You ask, simply curious. The Doctor blushes and River smirks. "I think I'm allowed to kissy-face with my husband." You gape at her in astonishment and she laughs. "River! We haven't even discussed timelines yet! Spoilers!" He admonishes, shaking his finger at her all the while. "Based on that greeting kiss you gave me, I didn't give anything away. I think we're good." "You bad, bad girl." He flirts, bopping her on the nose. "You love it." She says, nipping at his finger. You would be disgusted by their blatant flirting if it wasn't so cute. And they are cute. Absolutely adorable, in fact. The mad man and his crazy flirt of a wife. "All right, you two," you say to get their attention back. "We've landed. Let's explore!" The Doctor sticks his arm through River's and offers his other arm to you. You weave your arm through his, and together the three of you walk straight into trouble.

The trouble turns out to be a group of white aliens with four arms and a tendency to eating humans. You had panicked a bit in the beginning. It wasn't your fault. One minute you're looking at the festive white, metal Christmas tree, and the next you've been abducted by some crazy aliens who think you look delicious! Thankfully River and the Doctor come to your rescue. You'd be annoyed with yourself for getting caught if you weren't so glad to alive and uneaten. You are a little amazed as you watch the Doctor and River work together. They are a great team. River rounds the aliens together as the Doctor makes a net to contain them. It looks like hard work, but they just talk and laugh as if catching aliens is a normal occurrence. For them, it probably is. When the aliens are successfully restrained, the Doctor tries to talk and reason with them. It goes surprisingly well. The aliens are docile and agreeable, especially after River gave them a cold glare and ordered them to behave. You make a note to never get on River's bad side. Things are discussed and the Yetans, as the Doctor informs you, agree to leave the planet peacefully, as long as the lady (River) agrees to stop giving them the evil eye. River scoffs. The Doctor gives her a look and they seem to have a private conversation with their eyes. River sighs, but acquiesces. The Doctor mouths something you can't figure out, and River turns her glare on him, although this time it's full of exasperated love. "I hate you." She says to him. The Doctor gives her a smug look and says, "No you don't." Then he walks over to her and kisses her right on the mouth. You smile, but butt in before they can do anything but an innocent little peck on the lips. They both turn to you, pouting a bit. "Sorry to cut things short," you say, not sorry at all. "But we have some Yetans to send home." " Ah yes." The Doctor says as he rubs his hands together. "Anybody know what a Yetan spaceship looks like?"

The spaceship looks like a giant icicle, and the Yetans fly off without a hitch. You breath a sigh of relief. You turn to look your friends and see they are deep in discussion. "River, you can't just glare at people because they look suspicious!" "You're lucky I didn't shoot them instead." "You naughty girl. So trigger happy. I really shouldn't like that as much as I do. Never mind. River, stop distracting me!" "How am I distracting you?" "You know exactly how! With your talk of guns, your wonderful hair, and your fluttering eyelashes! Don't forget those flirty eyelashes!" "It's called blinking, Sweetie. And if you're getting distracted it's entirely your fault." "I can't help that you're so extremely attractive!" She kisses him then, and his hands play with her hair. You feel kind of awkward, just standing there, watching them, but you don't want to interrupt. Their fighting and kissing is just too interesting. Their fighting isn't even quite fighting. It's really just back and forth banter that leads to flirting which then leads to kissing. You've decided they have set an extremely high standard for married life, and you can only hope for something like it. They pull away after a good, embarrassingly long time, River grabs your hand and pulls you toward the direction of the Tardis. You follow willingly and the two of you begin to walk away from the Doctor. "Oi! Where are you going?" He calls. "The Tardis to change clothes." River says over her shoulder. "It's Christmas, and we are going dancing." "So I need to dress up?" He asks as he catches up to us. "You'd better." River says, and then she pulls you into the Tardis.

It's the first time you've ever been ballroom dancing and you're having the time of your life. The Doctor had gotten the three of you into a high class party with the help of his psychic paper, and the night just keeps getting better and better. River chose your outfit and you are so grateful for it. The dress is a deep purple and definitely from another planet. The material is softer than silk and swishes with your every step. Men everywhere are vying for your attention and you can't help but feel like a princess. After an hour of dancing, you are worn out and just content to eat lots of dessert and watch the other couples glide around the floor. Your eyes find the Doctor and River almost automatically, and you are instantly captivated by the sight of them. They dance so gracefully, so in tune with each other that you just know they have danced together at least hundred times before. They twirl and leap together in perfect synch and you know they are the perfect match. They fit so wonderfully, that everyone else looks awkward and uncoordinated in comparison. She's wearing a red dress that can only be described as breathtaking, and he's wearing a black tux with a red bow tie to match her. She's smiling at him and he's looking at her like she's the only other person in the room. They look like gods on earth, powerful and flawless and so in love. They are timeless.

It's late into the night when you finally head back to the Tardis. The Doctor and River walk close together as you linger behind them contentedly. She's resting her head against his shoulder as they stroll along. You want to take a picture, but you don't want to ruin the moment. Plus, you forgot to bring a camera. So you just watch them and try to remember everything that's happened tonight. "Thank you for the dancing, Sweetie." River says sleepily. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." The Doctor says as he looks down to meet her eyes. "You were so graceful tonight, no bumbling giraffe motions at all." He huffs and she chuckles. She pecks him on the cheek and he leans even closer into her. She pulls him along slightly to keep walking, but at a slower pace. "Sweetie, may I ask why you chose a Christmas adventure? Not that I'm complaining, definitely not, but I am curious. I mean, it's the middle of summer." He glances at her sheepishly, then looks at the ground. "I happen to know for a fact that I miss your next Christmas." "Oh Sweetie, every day with you is like Christmas." He straightens up at that and almost looks smug. She rolls her eyes. "I'm only saying that once, and I've already said it, so don't get used to it." He just smiles and pulls on his lapels. "Ah, but you have said it, and I have perfect memory." "I hate you." She laughs. "No you don't." He says happily. She hums and then gives him a soft kiss. "No, I don't." She says as she pulls away. Their moment is broken by you opening the Tardis' door. They walk in after you and the Doctor sets course to a place you've never heard of. "So, can you stay?" The Doctor asks River. He sounds hopeful, but he doesn't sound desperate. You wonder if he is. He places a hand on her cheek and you're certain he is. "For as long as I can." River replies, and the relief shows in his entire body. He cups her face and kisses her with fervency. "Merry Christmas River." You leave them in the console room and make way to your bedroom. As you lie down, you can just make out the sound of their murmuring voices. You fall asleep to the sound of their muffled laughter and dream of Christmas in July.


	6. Flirting In Between Breakfast

Flirting In Between Breakfast

The Saturday morning started well. Amy slept in late, a rare thing with the Doctor, and woke up alone. The Tardis hummed a tune to her as she sleepily made her way through the halls to the kitchen. When she arrived, she was greeted by a sight that warmed her heart. The Doctor was cooking on the stove, which admittedly made her a little nervous, and Rory was sitting by the table talking to River. Amy's heart jumped to see her daughter and husband laughing and talking happily. It hurt to know that they could never do that when River had been younger, but Amy was happy just to spend any time with her. "Oi, you two had better not be talking about me! Unless it's good things!" Rory and River turned to look at her. "Good morning Mum. Did you sleep well?" River asked as she got up to hug her. Amy hugged her back and stifled a yawn as she pulled away. "I did. Why didn't anyone wake me up?" She turned an accusing gaze at her husband. Rory held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Don't blame me! Dear, I know better than to wake you up on Saturdays." She rolled her eyes, but leaned down to kiss him. "Hey! None of that now. There will be no kissing in this kitchen!" The Doctor yelped. Amy straightened to stand, crossed her arms, and raised a delicate eyebrow. "I can kiss my own husband! We're married, as are you! River, haven't you ever kissed him in the kitchen?" River laughed at the question, but answered nonetheless. "Indeed, I have." "River!" The Doctor squawked, looking very red in the face. "Parents in the room!" "Amy asked the question." "But Rory didn't!" The Doctor said, panicked as he looks at the Roman. Rory looked as if he couldn't decide whether to be amused, cross, or both. The Doctor noticed this and hurried on. "Besides, I didn't kiss you in THIS kitchen. This kitchen is strictly a no-kissing kitchen." River grinned as he turned back to the stove. "We'll see about that." The back of the Doctor's neck flushed and Rory choked. "No flirting! It's too early for that!" "It's eleven thirty." River answered dryly. "And it's too early. It will always be too early for flirting!" River chuckled and the Doctor set four omelets onto the table with a flourish. "Breakfast time! I made omelets. I'm quite good at them, if I do say so myself." He said proudly as he tugged at his lapels. Amy hummed and took a bite. The omelet was actually really good. Amy would admit she hadn't believed him, but now she does wholeheartedly. It was one of the best omelets she had ever tasted. She told him so. "Thank you, Pond! The eggs were from the chicken planet, River brought them for us." "Wow." Amy said in reply. The Doctor made a face at her reaction, he hadn't expected her to be so impressed. "The chicken planet isn't that exciting, just a bunch of chickens running wild. They are almost like earth chickens, just produce better eggs. They are really great eggs, though I don't think they warrant a 'wow'." Amy shook her head at his ramblings. "Not that, you silly man. I just didn't know you and River were so... Domestic. I mean, you cooking, her getting the groceries? I don't know... I mean, I didn't even know you two DID domestic." River laughed and the Doctor harrumphed. "I'm not domestic. Domestic is boring. River isn't boring. I am not boring." He groused. River lightly touched his hand and he smiled fondly at her. "But I guess, if this is being domestic, I like it." He bopped River's nose and she leaned in to kiss him. He forgot about the couple in front of him and kissed her back. Rory slapped his forehead and plunked it down on the table. Amy rolled her eyes at his theatrics and smirked at the currently busy couple. So much for the strictly no-kissing kitchen.

It's a Wednesday afternoon and River is cursing the day that sales were invented. It had all started with Amy wanting to go shopping. River was fine with that, she does love a good shopping outing, but after a whole day of nothing but shopping Doctor-style, well, it's enough to drive anyone insane. The Doctor had taken them to a planet that was one giant mall with stores as big as small countries and rows of things to buy as far as the eye could see. The planet sold whatever you could think of, and many things that you couldn't. River had been having a field day. In one store, her personal favorite, all they sold was lipstick. Hallucinogenic lipstick, lipstick with healing properties, lipstick that freezes its victims, and lipstick that smelled of strawberries. After spending a good long while in that store, River emerged and realized she had no idea where the rest of her family was. She wasn't worried that she was alone, she had vortex manipulator for that, but she was a little concerned about her husband. She had been gone for hours and not once did she hear an explosion, not even a little one. That could only mean trouble. She quickly sent a text to Amy and received a reply with her mother's location. River pressed a button on her vortex manipulator and in a flash, she was transported right in front of her mother. Rory was standing behind Amy with a bewildered expression. Amy playfully glared at her grown-up daughter and muttered, "Cheater." River laughed, but didn't retaliate. "So, what did you buy?" She asked. Amy's face lit up as she showed River all of her finds. Apparently, Rory was Amy's designated pack-mule, his arms were full of bags. He looked thoroughly exhausted. "Oh dad, didn't you know they have robots to carry those things for you?" River asked fondly, amused at his outraged expression. "No, I did not! Amy, did you know that?" He cried. Amy did her best to look innocent. "Of course I didn't..." At his glare, she laughed and punched his shoulder. "At least you got a work out! Can't have you getting flabby on me now, can I?" He rubbed his shoulder and muttered something about impossible wives. Amy just grinned cheekily at him. "Where's the Doctor?" River asked. Amy whipped her head to gaze at her, a slightly alarmed look across her face. "You mean he's not with you?" River pinched the bridge of her nose. "No." Rory coughed and looked to the ground. River and Amy both slowly turned to glare him. "Father," River said, voice dangerously soft. "Where's the Doctor? And don't tell me you don't know." Rory gave a weary sigh and reluctantly answered the question. "He said he wanted to check out a hat store. But he said he'd only be a minute! That's the truth, I promise!" He flinched and flung his arms up to protect himself from Amy's wrath, but straightened up when he realized it wasn't coming. Twin looks of horror were spread across River and Amy's faces, and Rory paled considerably. River narrowed her eyes and Rory gulped. "When I get my hands on that man..." She didn't finish the ominous sentence, she just stormed off in the direction of the unfortunate hat store. Amy and Rory stared at her for a moment before following after her, hurrying to catch up to the irate woman. When they finally caught up to their daughter, she was standing in front of a gigantic store filled with every type of hat that had ever been dreamt up. River glared at the entrance but didn't walk into the store. "Why aren't you going in?" Amy asked, curious. "Why don't you go in? You're his companions." River said as she waved her hand in their direction. "You married him." Amy retorted, arms crossed as she made her "Scottish" pose. River heaved a dramatic sigh, squared her shoulders, and marched into the store. Amy and Rory just stood there and waited for the show they were about to hear. "River!" They heard the Doctor say. "Ow! River! Hey-River! What are you doing? River, I haven't paid for anything yet! Wait a minute!" His words came to a halt as he was dragged out of the store. River had a fist around his braces and was pulling him along, none too gently either. He saw Amy and Rory and gestured at them frantically. "Ponds! So good to see you! I think River may be a bit upset. Why is River upset? River, why are you upset?" River let go of his braces and he flopped unceremoniously to the floor. River sighed and helped him up. He dusted off his tweed and wagged a reproachful finger at her. "What is all the fuss about? I was just looking at hats. Nothing even exploded! Why the abuse of my poor, but very cool, braces?" River shook her head at him in exasperation, her golden curls flying everywhere. "What in heaven's name were you doing in a hat shop? You don't need any hats!" "I do need new hats! As I recall, you shot the last five!" River rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did. Take a hint, sweetie, I'm not shooting them for target practice, I'm shooting them so you'll stop wearing them!" The Doctor looked at her in bewilderment. "Why would you ever want that? Hats are cool." River threw up her hands and chuckled. "You are impossible." She told him. "You like it." He said smugly. He threw his head high, and tugged his lapels in pride. "I hate you." She said and lightly smacked his chest. He grabbed her offending hand and gave it a kiss with a resounding smack. "No you don't." He wove their fingers together and she gave him a quick kiss. "Oi! None of that, you two!" Rory said. River rolled her eyes. "So, anywhere else you want to go?" She asked her parents. "Oh, yes!" The Doctor said, not realizing that she was taking to her parents. "There's one place I'd like to go before we leave. I heard about an amazing bow-tie store here! I won't be but a minute!" There was a collective groan, the Doctor tugged River's hand and she grabbed Amy's hand, and Amy pulled Rory along by the elbow. "Come along Ponds! Bow-ties are cool!"


	7. All Of One Time In One Moment

All Of Time In One Moment

River is sitting on her bed in Stormcage when she hears a familiar whooshing sound. She stands up and smiles as the Tardis materializes in front of her. She walks to the bars of her cell and smirks as her bumbling idiot tumbles out of the blue police box. "Hi honey! I'm home!" The Doctor calls. River's heart flutters as she realizes this is a Doctor who knows her. "And what sort of a time do you call this?" She says, finishing the phrase that they share. "I'd say it's time to get my wife out of her cell." He says fondly. Her smile grows even wider, he really does know her. She grabs his braces and pulls him into a searing kiss. He squeaks as his body collides into the bars and she laughs against his lips. She pulls back his braces and lets it go with a loud snap. "Aren't you going to open the door?" She asks. The Doctor pouts and rubs the spot where the braces hit. "Not if you're going to keep abusing me!" River shrugs nonchalantly and opens her cell door. "Fine." "River!" The Doctor exclaims. "How did you do that?" "Wouldn't you like to know." She says tauntingly. "Actually yes, I would very much like to know." "Too bad." She says, poker face on as she inches her way closer to him. He swears that she takes slow steps on purpose, just to rile him up. She does. "Naughty woman." He says, both flirty and exasperated. "You love it." She pecks him on the lips quickly to stop his oncoming retort. His eyes close as he waits for a second kiss that's sure to come. It never does. When he opens his eyes, she's already disappeared into the Tardis. He huffs and pushes open the door. She's nowhere to be seen. "River! I'm not going to take you anywhere if you keep disappearing on me!" "Coming Sweetie." She calls. He turns to the sound of her voice and watches her as she saunters to the console. She's wearing a deep red dress that flows all the way to the ground. The Doctor tries and fails to keep his jaw from scraping the floor. If she's going to look like that all night they're both in deep trouble. They are most likely going to do a fair amount of running tonight and the Doctor will probably need his brain. Too bad it's too fried to even form a coherent sentence. "Close your mouth sweetie, you're going to catch flies." River says lightly as she taps the bottom of his chin. His mouth closes with a snap, and he remembers he needs to breathe. She's turning levers when he finally comes back to his senses. "Where are we going?" He asks as he sidles up next to her. "The coronation of King Arnott the XVII." "I thought you were banned from Atraxi." She spins around to look at him with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Am I? Spoilers." She turns back to the monitor and he internally slaps his face. "Oops. Sorry. So, where are we for you?" He asks. "We just did Bob the Frigg two nights ago." "Ah. I see now. Did that a couple months ago. He was quite a handsy fellow, if I recall correctly." The Doctor frowns as he remembers the young Frigg's infatuation with River's hair and, well, the rest of her as well. "Yes, well, that tends to be an issue when you have seven of them." She answers dryly. "Yeah. He was such a cheater at Rock, Paper, Scissors." River laughs and he remembers that they're flying through space and time and that he should probably concentrate. "Oi! River, I was supposed to drive tonight!" "I suppose you could, or we could be on time for once." He sighs and feels the floor slightly thud as they land. He pouts when he realizes she turned on the "blue boringers." River turns to the door but the Doctor grabs her hand. "No shooting anything tonight, River. And no kissing! Definitely none of that!" "You're no fun." She pouts, and he stares at her ruby red lips. He's sorely tempted to kiss her and River hasn't failed to notice. "Are you sure about this no kissing business?" She says seductively. "Well..." He leans down to kiss her and receives a finger to the lips. "No kissing! Definitely none of that!" She mimics and slips out the door. He stares at the door for a moment, smiling at her sauciness, when she comes back in. "Well, are you coming?" He smiles wider as she grabs his hand and pulls him out the door.

"Happy Birthday Doctor Song!" The Doctor crows, bopping his lovely wife on the nose through the bars of her cell. She crinkles her nose but smiles at him happily. "Hello Sweetie." He sonics her door open and she saunters out, pulling out her blue book as she glides towards him. "So, where are we for you?" The Doctor pulls her book out her hands and kisses her quickly. "Well wife, I just recently did Lorien." "That hat had been truly atrocious. I'm glad the Loriens made you take it off.""River! How could you say that? That hat was so cool!" The Doctor clutches his chest as if she had wounded him. River just smirks and pushes past him into the Tardis. "Nowhere in this universe could that hat be considered cool." "It was cool!" He cries as he follows after her. "It was so cool!" "It had bells and feathers on it. It was hideous." River says, a note of finality in her tone. The Doctor makes a face and changes the subject. "So! Where do you want to go? It's your birthday today, so we can go anywhere you'd like." "Surprise me." He salutes her and starts dancing around the controls. River moves to help him but he grabs her shoulders and gently steers her to the stairway. "You said surprise you, and I can't do that if you're right next to me now, can I? Go get ready dear. Take a bath, or whatever, to relax." "Care to join me?" She says saucily and he blushes. "River! You bad, bad girl!" River sighs. "So I take that as a no?" "Yes." "It's a yes?" "No! I meant a yes to your no!" "Not even for my birthday?" She pouts. "Get going honey." He says fondly. She blows a huff of air and walks away, swinging her hips far more than necessary. She hears the Doctor trip over his own feet and gives a secret smile. "Oh, dear?" He calls. "Wear something nice." "Anything you say. Oh, and Sweetie?" She turns to him with a smile. "I'd better be impressed." "You will be. I promise."

She was impressed. The Doctor had taken her to the highest peaks of the Denoxo mountains and they had a picnic to the biggest meteor shower in all of history. They had danced to the music of the planet's singing crickets and the light of the falling stars. They had talked and laughed and the Doctor had told River she was beautiful. They were now back in the Tardis and River watched the Doctor as he played with the controls. "What are you doing Sweetie?" She asks, yawning slightly. "Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just fiddling." She smiles softly and closes her eyes. The room is quiet and peaceful for a moment. The Doctor stops messing with the controls and turns to his wife. She is curled up on the chair, asleep. The Doctor's hearts melt as he watches her; she looks so serene, a graceful tigress, even while asleep. He gently picks her up and she stirs slightly in his arms. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" He presses a kiss to her curly hair and she sighs into his neck. "I'm taking care of my wife." "I can deal with that." She says softly. He shivers slightly as her warm breath hits his neck. Oh, that woman! She can always affect him, even while half asleep! She yawns and he gazes down at her lovingly. "River, when was the last time you slept?" She is quiet for a moment, looking back in her memories. "I don't know. Maybe a week ago?" He shakes his head at her fondly. "You need to sleep more, dear. Humans need their sleep." "I'm not all human." She says, yawning again. "I know, but you still need sleep." She grumbles a bit and he smiles at her stubbornness. He reaches their room and she opens the door for him. He maneuvers his way around the room and gently lays her down on the bed. She protests slightly as he takes off her shoes. "I can change by myself, my love." "I know you can, but I am helping you tonight. Deal with it." He says teasingly and she grins. "You're helping me change?" The Doctor blushes a bit and leans down to kiss her. She kisses him back enthusiastically, and after a minute of bliss, he pulls away to breathe. River's eyes are closed, but they fly open as she feels cloth hit her in the face. It's nightclothes, and the Doctor is in the bathroom. "I hate you." She calls. "No you don't." His answer is muffled by the door. She grouses slightly as she changes. When she is done the Doctor comes in dressed in dark blue pajamas. "Are those new?" River asks as she appreciatively looks at him from head to toe. "Yup." He says simply, popping the P. He goes around to his side of the bed and slides in next to her. She wiggles a bit to get comfortable and snuggles into him. "Are we cuddling?" He asks quietly. "Yup." She says, popping the P just as he had before. He nods and wraps his arms around her. "Happy birthday River." River smiles into his chest. "Doctor?" She says. "Mhmm?" "It's not my birthday." The Doctor just gapes at her and she laughs before falling asleep.

River knows that loving the Doctor is not easy. It's hard and heartbreaking and ever so complicated. But she knows without a doubt that it is always, always and completely, worth it.


	8. Don't Panic, It's Only A Bomb

Don't Panic, It's Only A Bomb

The Doctor is handcuffed, imprisoned, he's lost his sonic, and it's completely Rivers fault.

It all started when he had picked her up from Stormcage and let her drive. That was his first mistake. She took them to the planet Gafory for a ball. That was alright, the Doctor always loves a good dance, but then River flirted with the Monarch, refused to marry him, and then stole his scepter! Suffice to say, the Monarch was not pleased, and his guards could run very fast.

So here he is, the Doctor, all tied up and a bit cross. River is behind him, facing the bars, and entirely too cheerful for his liking. "This is all your fault River." "Oh, cheer up Sweetie. I was going to handcuff you later anyways." The Doctor choked and started coughing. She laughed and leaned against him. "River! Now is not a good time for flirting!" "Sweetie, it is always a good time for flirting." She wiggled against him and he subconsciously moved closer to her. "You just had to steal and flirt, didn't you?" He moans. She laughs. "Those are my best qualities! And I was actually stealing that scepter for my pardon. Apparently it's a sort of weapon, and the Church didn't want Monarch Kranero to have that kind of advanced technology." "You still didn't have to flirt with him! He wasn't even that attractive!" "Sweetie, are you jealous?" "Of him?" He scoffs. "Hardly." River smiles to herself, but says nothing. A guard walk by and River calls out to him. "Hello there gorgeous." She says, her voice completely dripping with flirty charm, and the Doctor inwardly groans. The guard smiles and comes closer to the cell. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, River. It's not going to work." The Doctor hisses. River ignores him and continues to speak. "I must say, if I knew someone as good looking as you was a guard, well, I would have stolen something ages ago." River says, and the Doctor is grateful he's sitting down. She's not even speaking to him, but her voice is so seductive his knees are going weak anyways. She winks at the guard, and the Doctor knows the poor man is done for. He never even had a chance. River has somehow managed to untie herself and she pulls the guard's face through the bars of the cell. She kisses him, and after a moment, the guard passes out. She lets him go and he falls unceremoniously to the ground. She pulls the key chain off his belt and turns back to the Doctor. She smirks. "Oh Sweetie, flattery will get you everywhere." He harrumphs as she unties his hands. "What, no hallucinogenic lipstick this time?" He says sulkily. "I ran out of it, you should take me shopping soon. Although, this knock out lipstick is starting to grow on me." The Doctor waves a disapproving finger at her. "You can't just go around drugging people, River!" "Watch me." She says cheekily and he laughs. She unlocks the door and he grabs her hand as they walk out of the cell together. "So, are you ready to head back to the Tardis?" He asks. "I still have to get that scepter, and you need to find your sonic." He grins at her and kisses her hand. "Well then, we need to get going! Come along Song, let's get into trouble!"

It had been a lovely day in Washington D.C. The sun had been out, the wind had been sending a light breeze through the trees, and the birds had been singing. Then the Doctor came.

"All right Ponds! Let's go!" He cries as he steps out of the Tardis. Amy and Rory walk out behind him and squint as the sun hits their eyes. "Doctor? This isn't the planet of multicolored waters. Why are we here?" Amy asks. The Doctor is already forging ahead and Amy hurries to catch up, dragging Rory along all the while. "Why not? By the way, we are in 2654, so try not to look so..." He gestures to their clothes, then waves his hand as if to dismiss that thought. "Never mind. If anyone asks though, just say you're really into vintage." Amy rolls her eyes. "Like you're one to talk, you raggedy man. But really, why here?" The Doctor ignores the question and heads into a coffee shop. Amy and Rory both heave a sigh and follow after him. When they open the door, they see the Doctor sitting in a booth with River and consulting diaries with her. "River!" Amy squeals, and hugs her before River even has a chance to stand up. River opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by an explosion. The Doctor bops River on the nose. "What have you done, you bad, bad girl?" He says, exasperated, amused, and flirty all at once. "Really Sweetie, a simple little explosion, and you immediately assume it's my fault?" They all turn to give her a look, and she smiles mischievously. "All right, fine. I may or may not have stolen an artifact for the museum." "You work at a museum?" Rory asks. Amy hits him on the shoulder. "Really? There are explosions, your daughter just stole something, and you're interested that she works at a museum?" "What? It's a good question!" Rory defends, rubbing his shoulder as they all leave the coffee shop. "Hold on." The Doctor stops and walks right in front of River's path. Rory tries to ignore that the Doctor is very much in River's personal space. "River. Why would there be an explosion? If it's the government, they wouldn't blow stuff up just because something's missing." River smiles wickedly. "Who said anything about something missing... Yet? That was my distraction." She checks her watch. "We have an hour." And with that, she disappears into the screaming crowd. "Are we following after her?" Amy asks the Doctor. "No. But I know where she's going." He grabs Amy's hand and Amy grabs Rory, and they run to the Tardis.

"Are we going to get there in time?" Amy asks the Doctor. He's frantically pulling levers, and the room is shaking. Rory wishes River were here to turn on the stabilizers. "Of course! Sexy won't steer me wrong." The Doctor says as he pats the console. The room jerks again and they all grab onto the railing; there's a thud and the familiar whooshing sound. "Aha! We've landed!" The Doctor cries. He checks the monitor and puffs his chest out with pride. "And we are perfectly on time! Told you I could do it." He says smugly, and Amy and Rory both roll their eyes. They run out of the Tardis and find themselves in an empty museum. "Hang on." Rory says. "She's stealing something from a museum... To give to a museum?" "Irony abounds." Says River's disembodied voice. The Doctor waves his sonic and walks towards the direction of her voice. Amy and Rory follow after him, and they walk through multiple halls and doors before they finally find her. She's kneeling behind a display case and picking the lock. "River! You can't steal the Hope Diamond!" The Doctor exclaims. "I've read the history and future of this diamond. Apparently I can, and I have, without getting caught, I might add!" "What about that explosion? You might have hurt people!" He says, flailing his arms as he talks. "Hardly. I blew up that silly statue of Justin Bieber. And it was a tiny explosion, so unless someone was sitting in Justin's lap, I'd say we're good. Besides, I read up on this heist. No casualties. Just a few frazzled museum guards and a decapitated Bieber. Don't ask me why Justin has a statue here, people from 2654 are a bit odd." The Doctor opens and closes his mouth, and River smirks in victory. "Why's the museum closed?" Rory asks, half in curiosity, and half to just fill the silence. "Renovations. And yes, I turned off the cameras. Really, you all act as if I don't plan ahead." River huffs, and the display case pops open. River reaches for the diamond. "Wait-" The Doctor calls out, but it's too late. A red light starts blinking and a quiet beeping informs them that the case was, in fact, booby trapped. "Don't panic." Rory says nonchalantly. "But I think that's a bomb."

"Bet you didn't see this in the archives, did you?" The Doctor said pompously. "They failed to mention it." River says dryly. She waves her scanner and sighs in relief. "It's not a bomb... Well, not really a bomb. When the timer goes off, the diamond will send electrical charges through a ten-yard radius. Oh, that's clever! How did they do that?" "River! Disarm the diamond first, figure it out later!" Amy exclaims. "Doctor, would you care to be a self-righteous pomp some more, or would you care to help me?" River asks sarcastically. The Doctor huffs, but plops down next to her and waves his sonic. A panel falls open and River gets to work on the intertwined wires. As she pulls apart the wires, the beeping and blinking stop and they all sigh with relief. The Doctor shakes a reproving finger at her. "This is not over, River. When we get done with this, you and I are going to have a discussion." "I'm looking forward to it." River says flirtatiously. The Doctor blushes, looks at Rory, blushes some more, and looks back to the task at hand. "River! That's not what I meant!" He squawks. She just chuckles and puts a couple of unplugged wires in her teeth. The Doctor is trying and failing not to look at her mouth, Rory is trying not to get upset, and Amy is bursting with amusement at the whole situation. River puts back the wires and claps her hands lightly. "There. Everything's back to the way it was. It's going to look like the diamond simply disappeared into thin air." She chuckles. "I'd imagine they'll be scratching their heads over this for years." The Doctor stands up and holds a hand out for her. She grabs it, hauls herself up, and pulls him into a kiss. He squeaks, but kisses her back with equal fervor. "Oi! Parents still here! Parents very much still here!" Rory squawks. The Doctor comes to his senses quickly and pulls away from River hurriedly. River grumbles in protest, but lets him go. They hear shouts outside and people start to run inside. "Time's up." River says. The Doctor smiles. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He cries happily, adrenaline flowing. "Run!"


	9. Rest Now, I Will Carry You

Rest Now, I Will Carry You

The Doctor drops Clara off for the weekend and promises not to get into trouble. Well, not too much trouble, anyways. He sets course for the moons of Kaline, but when he opens the doors of the Tardis, he's at Luna University. "River." He breathes. He makes his way through the student-filled sidewalks quickly and walks straight into someone. "Sorry." He says as he hurriedly pulls up the woman he knocked into. "Are you alr- River?" The woman's curly, blonde hair falls away from her face. It is River. She looks startled, but smiles when she recognizes him. "River!" He cries happily, and pulls her face into his hands as he kisses her. Kisses her right in the middle of the sidewalk, completely ignorant of the stares of the curious students that make their way around the currently busy couple. He pulls away slowly and intertwines his fingers with hers. He pulls her in the direction of the Tardis and she follows him willingly. Not a word is spoken, just a companionable silence as they walk side by side. River sighs when they step into the Tardis. The Tardis hums to her child and River laughs. "It's good to be back." She says, and the Doctor almost replies before realizing she wasn't talking to him. The Tardis is humming and her lights are blinking and the whole atmosphere is so incredibly joyful. The Doctor leans against the rails and just stares at his wife in wonder. He hasn't seen her since Darillium, and that was a very long time ago. He saw her at Trenzalore, but it wasn't a her that was alive, well, you know... Alive, alive. He's missed her. That's an understatement, but he can't find the right words to describe the magnitude of his feelings for her. Out of every place in all the universe, the only place he loves is right by her side. She's his family and his home, and his two hearts are happily nestled in her two hands.

River is setting coordinates to some unknown place when the Doctor finally speaks. "So, when are we for you?" He asks casually. River's hand stills on the controls and she takes a deep breath before answering. "I did Manhattan a month ago." The Doctor's hearts immediately clench. His poor River. Her voice is strong, as it always is, but her eyes give her away. They are full of pain and unshed tears. Manhattan was a long time ago for him, and he has finally been able to move on enough to be able to remember the fond memories without being overcome with the bad ones, but he also remembers who had helped him move on, River. She had been so brave for him, so strong. She had held on to him as he had cried over HER parents and never once had she shed a tear in front of him. He's loathe to admit it, but when he was younger, it had helped when she had been the strong one. But he's here now, and he will be there for her. He will be the strong one. He promises.

"It's been quite a long time for me." He finally replies. River's hands fiddle with the controls as she tries her hardest not to cry. She smiles faintly, and the Doctor's hearts clench again. He opens his mouth to say something, although he's not quite sure what, but River cuts him off quickly and tries to change the subject. "Well, let's have an adventure! I've set course for Saeban, in the year of their revolution-" he cuts off her sentence by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. She is stiff and rigid in his arms and it breaks his hearts. She's in so much pain but she's trying to hide the damage from him, for him. She pulls away first and he lets her, but he holds her face in hands and tries to figure out how to help her. She won't meet his eyes. "River. River, please look at me." She slowly lifts her eyes to his. Her eyes are filled with loss and emptiness. He looks at her with understanding and she yanks herself away from his light grip. She starts to spin away, but he grabs her hand and she stops. "River, please talk to me. Yell at me, slap me, do anything, just let me in. Please." River turns to him, and he can see the raging storm within her. "Please, my love, can we talk about this later? Let's go on an adventure, please." He sighs and lets her go back to steering the Tardis. He never really could say no to her, but he knows not to let this go. "Ok." He says. "But we will talk later." His tone is gentle, but filled with firm determination. River sighs and nods, "Later." They land with barely a sound, the Doctor tangles his hand with River's, and they walk into an adventure.

It's hours later when they come stumbling back in. River's outfit is torn and the Doctor's tweed is scorched. "You couldn't just disable the bomb." River moans. "No, you had to be a drama queen and wait til the very last second." "Oi! It was a climax! You can't just skip a climax! Besides, I had it timed it perfectly. The bomb was disabled right when it needed to. It settled the war, everyone went home happy! Well, except the losers, but who is ever happy when they lose?" "I suppose no one." River replies. She's still breathless from running and her eyes are brighter from the excitement. But the Doctor knows the darkness still lingers all around her. They are silent for a while, and River can tell he's going to broach that very sore subject again. "River-" He starts, but she's already walking away from him. "Not yet, my love." She calls over her shoulder. "I'm entirely too sober right now." He stands in the console room, alone, and he squeezes his eyes tight as he tries to figure out how to pick up the pieces of his broken wife.

After forty-two minutes of searching, the Doctor finally finds River in the fifth kitchen. She's sitting on the floor and leaning her back against the counter, a glass in one hand, and a half empty bottle of scotch in the other. It's completely dark except the light from the open refrigerator. Her feet are bare. The Doctor sighs and sits down next to her. "Hello Sweetie. Fancy a drink?" "Sure." The Doctor says, reaching for the bottle. "Too bad." She pulls the bottle away from his outstretched fingers. "I know you, my love, and your tongue doesn't like any form of alcohol. You would just spit it out and keep it away from me, and I quite like alcohol at this present moment." The Doctor pouts, but doesn't say anything. They sit quietly for a moment. "Are you going to talk to me now?" He asks. She ignores him and refills her glass. She tilts her head back as she drinks her scotch, letting it roll around her mouth before swallowing it. The Doctor finds it unbearably sexy, but doesn't say anything. He knows it is not the time for... That. It's silent except for the occasional clink of glass from River and the occasional shuffle of legs from the Doctor. He mentally curses his inability to sit still. He's almost asleep when she finally starts talking. "I used to not be able to remember my childhood at the orphanage." He jerks slightly, alert again, and she stops talking. He places his hand lightly on her leg, and she takes a deep breath before continuing. "After Area 52, the memories would come back in flashes, in dreams. I don't think it's all there, but I can piece together the things I don't know." She's silent for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "I remember my first body, I was a tiny little thing. All knees and elbows, with hair that blazed red in the infrequent sunbeams that slipped through the window shades. You would have been so jealous, my love." He pouts, and she chuckles at his constant desire to be ginger. She takes another long swig of scotch, and continues. "I remember always being afraid. They would test so many experiments on me, but I wouldn't remember because the Silence would always be with me. I would just wake up with scars all over me, and a vague sense of dread." The Doctor clenches his free hand into a fist. He wants to crush every last Silent for what they did, he wants to obliterate them completely from the universe, and he hates himself for being the reason this happened. He makes himself calm down because he knows his anger won't help anything, and River needs him to listen to her. "I remember the caretaker of the orphanage. He was a good man." She smiles a little bit, looking at nothing and remembering. "He would sometimes slip me a piece of cake when he would roam the halls at night. But sometimes he would grab my shoulders and shake me, yelling at me to run away, yelling at something behind me to get out. He would turn away, and when he would look back at me, he would be so confused. He would ask me why I looked so scared, and I could never answer him. I didn't know how to." She stops smiling, and takes another swig of her drink.

"I remember Kovarian." She says, and he stiffens. He wonders what horrors that evil beast of a woman did to his River. "She didn't really visit much, used her lackeys to experiment and brainwash me, but I can now remember the visits she probably wants to haunt me with. She once told me-" River's voice cracks, she clears her throat and starts again. "She once told me I was alone for a reason. I was made to kill the Doctor, and my mum loved the Doctor more than me. That she loved him so much, she didn't want me. Because I was a murderer, because I murdered you." The Doctor's eyes fill with tears as he puts a hand to River's cheek. River pulls her face away and continues on. "I told her she was lying. I remembered when Amy held me, on Demons' Run, and I always clutched at that memory like a lifeline. I told Kovarian my mummy loved me, and I hadn't killed anyone yet. And she repeated my last word, yet. She gripped my face and said, 'Melody, you are a weapon. You were made to kill the Doctor, and you WILL kill him. It's written throughout history, and you can't run away from your destiny. The Doctor must die.' I told her I didn't want to kill anyone and that I wasn't a weapon. She squeezed my face so hard her fingernails drew blood, and she said, 'Oh, but Melody, you're already a weapon. It doesn't matter what you want.' Then she had me put into an astronaut suit. 'The spaceman is coming to get you, Melody. He's already gotten your parents. You are alone, Melody, and you always will be.' And the spaceman did come. With my mum and dad. And my mum tried to shoot me. So I ran away. Turns out, running away when you're a little girl is not the most inconspicuous thing to do. I had smuggled myself on a train when a security guard had caught me. He was a big man, and I panicked. Before he had even gotten a question out, I had kicked his feet out from under him and punched him until he was unconscious. I ran away and hid in the darkest corner I could find. My hands were covered in blood from his nose. I was horrified that I had hurt him. I didn't even know how I did it, and that frightened me to no end. Kovarian was right, I really was a weapon."

The Doctor's mind is reeling from all this new information. His hearts ache for his wife. She is quiet for a moment, drinking her scotch like there's no tomorrow. The intoxication is starting to set in and her tongue is loosening. "Anyways, I regenerated, turned into Mels, and you know the rest." She trails off and looks at the amber liquid in her glass. "River, what was it like?" The Doctor asks. Her eyes are clouding and he can see her thoughts lose their coherency. "What was what like?" She asks. Her words are clear, but her voice is soft and slow. "What was it like, growing up with your parents?" "Honestly? It was lonely. They were my best friends, but I couldn't ever tell them the truth about me. How do you explain my life to a kid? So I lied." She says, a heavy sadness lying squarely on her shoulders. "I'm sorry." He says quietly, completely sincere. She just shrugs and speaks on. "But I loved growing up with them. Even when they were little, Amy and Rory acted just like an old, married couple. I would get into trouble and together they would scold me for being reckless. They often joked that they were like my parents and I would laugh at the ironic truth." Her voice quiets to a whisper and the Doctor strains to hear her. "Sometimes, we would all just lay on Amy's bed, huddled together, and I would close my eyes and pretend that they knew who I was, and we were being lazy as a family. But then Amy would call me Mels, and my illusion would be shattered." River takes a deep breath and lets it go, she takes another breath before starting again. "She used to tell me stories about her adventures with you. She would spend hours describing the places you had shown her and how wonderful you were, and I- I would hate you for making her love you more than me." Her voice breaks, and she shuts her eyes closed. It's too late though, the Doctor sees her self-loathing and a tear escapes. He kisses it away and pulls her into his arms. Her legs move on top of his and she buries her face in his neck. Hot tears burn a track down his skin and his tears mingle with hers as they mourn together. Her tears for her lost parents, and his tears for the childhood she never got to have.

They sit there for quite some time, and the Doctor revels in having her in his arms again. He re-memorizes the curve of her shoulders and the dip of her waist and buries his nose into her hair. She is silent, and he wonders if she is even awake. He carefully tightens his grip and gently stands up. She doesn't move in his arms as he makes his way to their room. "I'm still awake you know." River speaks into his neck, and he jumps. He feels her smile and harrumphs good-naturedly. "Well then tell me a story, because I'm starting to fall asleep myself." "Once upon a time-" She starts teasingly and he lightly wiggles his fingers against her ribs. "That's not what I meant, you stubborn woman. I meant another story about you." She talks into his neck and her words are muffled. "I don't have any happy ones right now." "That's ok. Tell me one anyway." She is still for a moment, and when she speaks again her words are practically murmurs. "Alright... After Demons' Run, the second time of course, I took mum and dad home. Amy kept asking me if she ever got me back, the little me, and Rory asked me what they did to me, and I couldn't tell them. I couldn't tell them." River's voice cracks and she takes a deep breath. "They couldn't have kids after, well, I suppose you already knew that. But now that- now that- they're gone, they adopted Anthony, and they finally have the family they deserve." The Doctor stops and stares down at her. "River, you are still a part of their family, and they love you. They have always loved you." She doesn't say anything and the Doctor sighs. He reaches their room and the door is already open. He silently thanks the Tardis and gently lays River on the bed. "I'm still wearing regular clothes." She remarks, her words slurring from exhaustion and intoxication. "Oh well, let's be rebels." The Doctor says and she smiles a bit. He takes off his shoes and climbs in next to her. She's almost asleep as she snuggles into him, the Doctor whispers into her ear and his words are heavy-laden with tiredness. "River, I know you're tired, but I need you to remember this, can you do that?" She nods into his chest and he lets go of a deep breathe. "You are loved, River. you are so loved. You are not a weapon. You are my family." She kisses him. She tastes of scotch and salt, but he doesn't care. He whispers his true name into her ear and she shivers. It is an old name, and she can't think of a name more perfect. She kisses him again, in understanding, and they fall asleep together, wrapped in stars, tears, and time. The weary world spins around them, and they sleep on.


	10. History Will Sing About Us

History Will Sing About Us

The Doctor always knew that introducing River Song to Winston Churchill was a bad idea.

She's lounging on her cot in Stormcage when the Tardis materializes in front of her. "Hi honey! I'm home!" The Doctor says exuberantly as he pops out of his blue box. "And what sort of a time do you call this?" She says back. She wrinkles her nose. "I think we might need a new catchphrase, Sweetie." "What ever for? I like our catchphrase!" He says with mock indignation. She shakes her head at his flailing arms and chuckles. "This is the third time I've had to say that today, and that's just today!" The Doctor scrunches up his face in fake bemusement. "I've already visited you twice today? I think I'd remember that." He says teasingly. She rolls her eyes at him and he sonics open her cell door. "Anyways," he continues as she walks out. "I like our catchphrase." "It makes us sound like an old married couple." River laughs. "Well, we are an old married couple!" The Doctor says as he bops her on the nose. She raises her eyebrow and he realizes his mistake. "Oh! Not that you're old-I mean I'm old-and you're not-and we are married-" River cuts him off with a quick peck on the cheek. "My, you are really flustered today, aren't you? Bless." She smiles fondly at him, her goofy Doctor. "We must be early for you." "Not so early." The Doctor replies, giving her a quick little kiss that does not satisfy her in the least. "I just did the volcanoes of Castor yesterday." She flips through the pages of her diary, (which the Doctor hadn't noticed before) and smiles when she finds the right page. "Ah, yes. Ok, I know where you are now." "Well of course you do. I'm at Stormcage, right next to you." The Doctor says smugly, proud of his clever response. She rolls her eyes and the Doctor leads her into the Tardis.

He's trying to drive to Raxicoricofallapitorious but River keeps doing everything wrong. "The lever goes down!" He says, whirling about as he tries to undo everything she's done. "Yes, it goes down. Only if you want to end up in a supernova! Again!" She says in exasperation. "Oi! That was one time! And you may be the Child of the Tardis but she's still MY Tardis!" He says petulantly. She huffs but doesn't stop twirling around the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers when he's not looking. "You're acting like a child." She tells him. He flounders for a good retort and finds none. "Yeah? Well, takes one to know one." He says at last, letting go of the controls to cross his arms and pout. River laughs and he can't keep the smile off of his face when he hears the sound. She opens her mouth to say something cheeky but is interrupted by the phone ringing. The Doctor remembers he's supposed to be driving and hurries to check the controls. "Put it on speaker phone." He says to River as the room jostles. "I know what to do, old man." She scoffs. He smiles and appreciates the fact that he doesn't have to instruct River on how to put the phone on speaker, she already knows. That fact irks him and makes him all hot at the same time. "I thought I was a child." He says lightly. "You are." She replies as she picks up the phone. "An old man-child." He pokes her lightly in the ribs and sticks his tongue out at her.

"Hello?" A voice shouts from the speakers. The Doctor instantly recognizes it. "Winston Churchill! How are you, old boy?" "I'm in the middle of a war, I'm trapped in my office, and assassins are trying to get in!" Winston says. "We'll be there in a moment." River says. "Doctor, who was that? Was that a woman? It doesn't sound like Amelia. Is that the woman? The woman you said was hel-" "Goodbye, Winston!" The Doctor yelps. "See you soon!" He practically slams the phone into its holder and can feel River's eyes boring a hole of curiosity into his back. He swallows hard and turns to peek at her. She's staring at him with amusement. "It seems as though Winston got cut off." She drawls, sauntering closer to the Doctor as he simultaneously backs away. "Care to finish his sentence? I believe you know what he was going to say." He backs himself all the way into the seat behind him and River inches up closer. She's got him trapped, and the Doctor can tell she's enjoying it. "Well." She says as she slowly brings her finger all the way down from his cheek to his chest. He squeaks. "Have anything to say?" River drawls and the Doctor mentally curses her as he tries not to shiver. She's such a tease. "I might have said you were, umm... Hell in high heels?" He turns the answer into a high-pitched question as he scrunches his eyes closed. He waits for a slap but when it never comes he risks peeking his eyes open. River is silently laughing at him and he's too relieved to feel indignant. "What a compliment." She finally chokes out, her voice going from amused to sultry in a matter of seconds. "You are quite the flatterer." She comes even closer to the Doctor, pulls at his arms, and wraps them around her waist. "River, what are you doing?" He asks, wary of her sneaky charms even as he tugs her impossibly closer. "I think Winston can manage without us for a few more minutes." She says as she wraps her arms around his neck. "But there are assassins." He protests weakly. "We've got a time machine." She reminds him. "But-" "Oh, shut up and kiss me!" And so he happily complies.

Winston is getting a bit worried. It's been five minutes since he called the Doctor and the Tardis is still nowhere to be seen. He hears gunshots go off and prays for a miracle. The Tardis materializes by the door, and Winston swears the Doctor timed it like that on purpose. The Doctor pops out of his box and a blonde woman in a black dress comes out after him. The woman waves at Churchill and promptly walks out the door. "Doctor! That woman can't go out there! There are assassins out there!" The Doctor walks next to him and leans against the desk. "Oh, she'll be fine. We took a peek at the hall a moment ago and there's only seven assassins out there. And they're not even aliens. She's got this." "She's wearing a dress." Winston says, still slightly scandalized that the Doctor let someone go into danger alone. "Yeah, I told her not to, but River loves making a good first impression." Winston's eyes widen in recognition. "That's River Song?" "My bespoke psychopath, and now my lovely wife." "You're married?" The Doctor nods, a smile on his lips. They are silent for a moment as they listen to the fight outside. "So." Winston says. "Hell in high heels?" The Doctor grins sheepishly and Winston takes it as confirmation. "I can see that." He says thoughtfully. "I can hear you two talking about me!" River calls through the door. "All good things!" The Doctor yells. "They better be!" Comes her reply. "She's also Amelia Pond's daughter." The Doctor tells him. "I can see that too." Winston says with a smile.

There's a silence as the fight ends and River sweeps into the room, completely at ease, as if the small battle she had just won hadn't even fazed her. It hadn't. Her gun is hidden in the folds of her dress and the Doctor watches with baited breath as she walks across the room. "Hello Mr. Churchill. It is such a pleasure to meet you." She says, her voice dripping with flirtatious charm, and Winston is obviously, instantly enchanted. "Please, call me Winston." She holds out her hand to shake his, but he kisses it instead. "Ever the gentleman." She says coyly. Immediately, the Doctor can see where this is heading and he doesn't like it. "Ok! Everybody's met everybody! River, it's time to go." She pouts at him. He'd be tempted to kiss her if he wasn't so desperate to leave. "Oh, but Sweetie, I was hoping to have lunch with Winston." She lightly touches Winston's arm and the Doctor gets even more uneasy. "You wouldn't mind having lunch with us, would you?" She asks Winston. "I would love to." He says enthusiastically. The Doctor shakes his head and gestures to the Tardis. "Actually, we were going to Raxicoricofallapitorious, remember? And Winston is NOT allowed in the Tardis!" Winston grumbles and River chuckles. "Then let's eat here." She says, ever so practically. "No no no." The Doctor says frantically. "Raxicoricofallapitorious waits for no one!" "You have a time machine." River says dryly. "River!" She sees he has his 'serious face' on, and sighs. "Oh well, some other time then, Winston?" "I shall look forward to it." Winston says heartily. "Not if I have anything to say about it." The Doctor mutters under his breath. River hears him and laughs as she steps into the Tardis. The Doctor runs around the console and breathes a sigh of relief when they hit the time vortex. "What was that?" River asks him, amused. "What was that? What about you?!" He cries, defensive. "You're all flirty, what else am I supposed to do?" She kisses him, and his rant dies in his throat. "Well, we could do that." He says happily. "We could definitely do that." She shakes her head at him in amusement. "Oh Sweetie, what am I going to do with you?" "Well, I could think of a few things." He says coyly as he slips his arms around her. She practically purrs as she melts into him. Before he completely loses himself in the sensation of River, his mouth says something incredibly dumb. "Just promise me you'll never meet Jack Harkness." He immediately wants to suck the words back into his mouth, but it's too late. "Who's Jack Harkness?" River asks, her eyes alight with curiosity and mischief. The Doctor chuckles weakly. "Ummm... Spoilers?"


	11. Pictures Of Ponds

Pictures Of Ponds

Amy's cooking breakfast when the Tardis materializes in her living room. It's quite a shock, and she burns the eggs. "Rory!" She shouts. "Come downstairs!" The door of the Tardis opens and River and the Doctor walk out together. Amy squeals and completely forgets about her burned breakfast. She runs into her living room and launches herself at the married pair. "Hello Amy!" The Doctor says happily. "What's going on in here?" Rory asks blearily as he stumbles through the door. "Rory!" The Doctor cries. "Get over here, join the family hug!" Rory shakes his head a bit and Amy pulls him in anyways. There's a moment of hugging, and they are all laughing as they pull away. There's a bright flash and once Amy regains vision, she sees the Doctor holding a camera. "Why on earth do you have a camera? And why are you taking pictures? I look hideous!" She cries. "I didn't get this camera on earth." He says matter-of-factly. "And you don't look hideous." "I'm in my pajamas!" She says as she tries to wrestle the camera from his grip. He holds it above his head and after a while Amy gives up in defeat. "Sorry mum, he won't give this up. I already tried last night. He's stubborn." River says with a long suffering sigh. The Doctor sticks his tongue out at her. "Oi! There's nothing wrong with taking pictures! And how can I resist? There's a bunch of smiling Ponds, how can I NOT take a picture?" Amy smiles at that. There's a funny, burning smell and Amy gasps in horror. "The eggs!" She cries and runs into the kitchen. The eggs are a blackened mess and thoroughly inedible. "Thanks a lot, Raggedy Man." She moans. "How is this my fault?" The Doctor cries indignantly as he, River, and Rory traipse into the kitchen. "You distracted me!" She accuses. "How?" "You parked the Tardis in my living room!" She says in exasperation. "She does have a point." Rory says as he walks to Amy's side, poking at the still smoking pan. She kisses him on the cheek and he proceeds to look thoroughly pleased with himself. "We wouldn't have landed in the living room if you had just let me drive, Sweetie." River says teasingly. "When did this become 'pick on the Doctor'?" He whines. River kisses him on the neck and he blushes, thoroughly shutting up while looking extremely happy. "Forget about the pan, Amy." The Doctor says. "River and I have breakfast made in the Tardis." Amy raises a skeptical brow. "You made it?" The Doctor pouts. "You don't trust me with breakfast?" She crosses her arms and he sighs. "Fine. No, I did not make it. River and I popped to Paris before coming here." "Well then what are we waiting for?" Amy asks as she pushes past him. "Let's eat breakfast!"

Amy sighs in satisfaction as she pushes away from the table. They are in the second kitchen of the Tardis, eating a perfectly delicious breakfast of crepes and strawberries. "That was so good." Amy says contentedly. "So, when are you two?" Rory asks, pointing his fork in the Doctor and River's direction. "I forgot to ask before." "First night at Stormcage." River says. "I took her to Calderon Beta." The Doctor says proudly. "You don't have to tell them that." River says hurriedly. "Why not? It's a cool place. Anyways, there's a four-hundred year old tree there, on the highest mountain in the middle of the sea-" "You really don't have to go on." River says, biting her lip. "Why on earth not? All I was going to say was that there were the most stars in all of history seen on that night. It was so bright we could read by the light of the stars alone, only we didn't read...oh..." His voice trails off and he blushes. River blushes as well and Amy and Rory stare at her reddened cheeks in amazement. The Doctor takes a picture. River snaps one of the Doctor's braces and he yelps. "Don't take a picture of that." River hisses. The Doctor rubs his chest. "Well I doubt it's ever going to happen again and I wanted to savor that precious memory over and over again." "And you needed to take a photo?" "Yes." She scowls at him and he laughs nervously. Amy graciously changes the subject. "So, are we going to sit and scowl all day, or are we going to have an adventure?" The Doctor jumps up. "Let's go see Sterling 5! Oh, that's a marvelous planet! There are natural geysers of melted silver! And the jewelry they have there! Oh, Sterlings have such amazing and delicate craftsmanship!" He babbles on as he walks out the kitchen and River follows him. Amy and Rory sit in the kitchen for a little while, waiting. They hear an "Eep!" and a "River!" And they smile as they hear River laugh.

Amy walks into the Tardis' kitchen for a late night snack. Sterling 5 had been extraordinarily shiny and wonderful, and for once nothing had gone wrong. They had come back into the Tardis exhausted from a day of being normal tourists, and Amy and Rory had immediately gone to their room to sleep. Amy had woken up from a grumbling stomach, and as she peruses the contents of the fridge, she hears murmuring from the console room. She completely forgets about her hunger and pads down the halls. When she reaches the console room, she sees the Doctor and River underneath the glass floor. They don't see her. The Doctor is poking about the wires of the Tardis while River is holding his sonic and tools, handing him whatever he asks for and giving him some cheeky advice. It is adorably domestic and Amy quietly sighs at the sight. She sees the Doctor's camera on the seat by the monitor, he had been insistent on bringing it to Sterling 5, and she picks it up. She gets as close to the happy couple as she can without giving herself away, and she takes a picture. She looks at the screen to see if the photo turned out all right. And there they are, her Raggedy Doctor and her daughter, smiling at each other as she hands him his sonic. Amy notices that the camera can email pictures and sends the photo to herself. She makes a mental note to have it framed. She sets the camera back onto the seat and walks back to her and Rory's room. "River?" The Doctor asks once Amy is gone. "Yes, Sweetie?" "You do realize Amy was here, and she took a photo of us?" River chuckles. "Of course. I plan on taking revenge by snapping a shot of her sleeping." The Doctor grins at her. "River Song, you bad, bad girl." "You'd best believe it Sweetie." She says cheekily and winks at him. His smile grows even fonder at her and she blushes again slightly. She mentally curses him for it. "What?" She asks a bit self-consciously. The Doctor stands up and wraps his arms around her waist. She subconsciously melts into him and inches her way closer to his lips. "Your parents are on board." The Doctor whispers against her lips. "I like to live on the edge." She whispers back. "You can say that again." He mutters, and then they are kissing. He hears a click. "Go to bed, Amy." He mumbles. He hears a giggle and then she walks away again. "I'm going to have to keep my camera away from her. She's so flash-happy." He says jokingly. "Like you're one to talk." River scoffs, still held tightly in his arms. "Well it's my camera. I get to take as many pictures as I want. And if all the pictures are of my beautiful wife, then so be it." He reasons. River rolls her eyes and he kisses her again. They pull away after a while, and both of them are smiling. "River?" "Yes?" He holds her close and whispers in her ear, "I'm so very glad you married me"

Clara is wandering aimlessly through the Tardis, alone. The Doctor had to fix a couple of things and left her to explore on her own. She finds a library and looks at the shelves. There are hundreds of books and she could spend hours just reading the titles of them. She sees a photo album on the middle shelf and flips it open. There are photos of a red-haired woman and a man that had to be her husband. He had quite the nose, but was still very handsome. It's Amy and Rory, she realizes. Clara smiles at their pictures. They look very happy together, she decides. She flips through more pages and laughs at the pictures of the Doctor. There are multiple photos of him giving the camera a thumbs up. She flips through more of the album and sees the rest the photos are of River. River smiling, River laughing, even of River scowling! She doesn't know if she's simply seeing through the Doctor's eyes, but every photo of River is beautiful. She shines in every one of the pictures, even the ones with her mouth open because she's in the middle of saying something. Her personal favorite picture of River is closer to the back. River looks the same, but her eyes seem younger. She's blushing. It's something Clara would never have imagined River doing, but is enchanted by it nonetheless. She goes through the entire album and sees pictures of all of them together, or of them in different groups. She slowly turns the pages of kissing photos. She falls in love with the photo of Amy and Rory hugging River, and the Doctor hugging all of them. Underneath the photo there is a caption. Only one word, but it makes Clara's breath catch. Underneath the photo, it says, "Family."


	12. Raining On A Parade

Raining On A Parade

River has never been so grateful for the rain. If it hadn't been for the wrath of the "rain gods", River and the Doctor might just have ended up as a sacrifice. The Doctor had sworn he had a plan, but River still isn't convinced. As soon as she had set foot in the Tardis, River immediately took a shower. As handy as the rain had been, it had chilled her to the bone and ruined her hair.

She comes into the console room with her hair hanging around her in wet, perfect ringlets, and the Doctor is staring at the monitor. "Finally finished showering?" The Doctor asks, not looking at her. "I still don't understand how it takes you so long." "With great hair comes great need to condition." River says virtuously. The Doctor snorts and turns to her. He gulps nervously. "What are you wearing?!" She looks down at herself. The tank top and shorts she had put on earlier are still there. "Clothes, Sweetie. I'm wearing clothes." "Put something else on. We are going to Dontra IV, and if you keep wearing that, I might land us in Dontra III, which is quite a different place!" River grins. "So you're saying I'm distracting?" She drawls. "Yes." She brushes against him as she pushes a lever down. "Nice excuse, Sweetie, but I know you would probably land us in Dontra III even if I was wearing jeans and a turtleneck sweater." The Doctor laughs and pouts at the same time. "Like you would ever wear a turtle neck." He scoffs. River smirks, and he realizes he forgot about her driving comment. "And I'm a good driver!" He insists. "A little delayed reaction, my love." She says softly as she wraps her hands around his untied bow tie. He briefly wonders when it had come undone before being distracted by her lips.

He had only just put his lips on hers before the phone rings. He curses the timing. "Let it go to the machine." He mumbles, and then pauses. "Wait a minute." He says, pulling away slightly. There's a slight groan of protest from River. "That wasn't my phone." He realizes. "It's mine." River sighs and tries to pull all the way away from him. His arms are stubborn, and she's thoroughly trapped in his loving grip. She laughs lightly and answers the call. "Hello, Professor Song." "Professor?" A girl's voice rings out. "Professor, you're late!" "Late for what?" River asks. She turns in the Doctor's arms and leans against him. "Luna's annual gala?" River groans, partly in frustration and partly because the Doctor had just kissed her neck. "I'll be there in a few minutes." She promises and hangs up. She sighs. "What was that?" The Doctor asks, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "It seems I forgot about Luna's gala. It's held once a year so all the professors can suck up to potential donators. It's dreadfully boring. When the married old men aren't hitting on me, I'm trying to convince the filthy rich that Luna is worth investing in." The Doctor hums sympathetically. "I do happen to have a time machine." He says as he nuzzles into her neck. River sighs, squares her shoulders, and pries his arms off of her. "As much as I would love to, I should just get this over with." The Doctor sulks and sets course for Luna. "Go ahead and get ready. I'll fly the boring way, for you." River kisses his cheek. "I'm touched, but Sexy will have to fly herself tonight. You're my plus one." The Doctor shakes his head in denial. "Now River-" "If I'm not getting out of this, neither are you." She tosses over her shoulder as she walks deeper into the Tardis. "Get yourself ready, my love." The Doctor follows after her. She's nowhere to be seen in his closet. He starts to choose his outfit. "Oh, and Sweetie?" Her voice echoes. "Don't you dare wear tweed, and if I see even a hint of a fez..." Her voice trails off ominously, and the Doctor hurriedly drops his hands from the offending objects.

"River!" The Doctor cries, dressed in a tux and completely impatient. "Are you ready yet? I've been waiting an hour!" River steps into view and the Doctor gasps in horror. "River... What have you done to your hair? You've-you've-" "Straightened it. Aren't you observant tonight." "Why?!" He demands. "Your hair was perfect just the way it was!" "Sweetie, it's just hair. And it's only for tonight." He pouts and inspects her hair. It's shiny and quite a bit longer than he expected. He fingers a strand and she huffs, hands on her hips as she waits for him to finish his perusal. "I guess it's alright." He finally says. "I'm glad you approve." She says sarcastically. "Now, are you going to keep being ridiculous or can we get this over with?" "Don't sound so excited." He mutters. She tugs his bow tie straight and gives him a light slap. "None of your cheek. Now, we are going to a gala, people are going to be insufferable, and you need to behave." The Doctor scoffs and River kisses him lightly. "I'll behave." He says, leaning down to kiss her again. She lets him, but pulls away too soon for his liking. "Do I look acceptable?" She says, straightening the imaginary wrinkles in her dress. "You look amazing." The Doctor tells her sincerely. She smiles and quickly kisses him again. He holds her hand and they walk into the gala together.

When River had told him the gala was going to be boring, the Doctor hadn't believed her. Now he does. As soon as they had stepped into the gala, River had been whisked away by some of the other professors and the Doctor had been left alone. He had tried the champagne, (nasty stuff) and he had tried the appetizers. (Even worse) Nothing held his interest for very long. There was dancing, and a few ladies asked him to dance, but it was awkward. The women were either too short, too bossy, or too forward. He would glance over to River occasionally, but she would always be surrounded by men and apparently very engaged in their conversation. Some of the men were very attractive. The Doctor tried not to be jealous. She was flirting only for the benefit of Luna... Or she's just being River. Honestly, the woman's flirtatiousness could be matched only by the Captain Jack Harkness. The Doctor gives an involuntary shudder at the thought of those two together, should they ever meet. (And the Doctor has done his best to make sure it will never happen)

The Doctor maneuvers his way around people to finally be reunited with River. She is alone, and the Doctor is immensely relieved. "So Professor Song." He says in mock seriousness. "How are you enjoying the gala?" River turns her gaze to him, eyes gleaming with humor. "I find it to be most pleasurable. We must do this every evening." He pokes her in the side and she laughs lightly. She leans closer to him and his hand finds her lower back. "This is so dull." She murmurs into his ear. "Want to leave?" He asks hopefully. "I would love to, but I can't." "I'm sure they wouldn't notice if we slipped away." He whispers. River shivers slightly and the Doctor smugly grins. She scowls at him and pinches his bum. He jumps. "River!" He squawks, trying his best to be as quiet as possible. "That's what you get for trying to distract me." She teases. "I thought I told you to behave." The Doctor quickly pecks her on the lips. "I will if you will." He says. She chuckles, and a voice interrupts the gala and speaks loudly in the room. "I don't wish to alarm you, but a gigantic scorpion has escaped from Luna's lab. Please leave the building in a calm, and orderly fashion."

And, of course, that's when the screaming and running begins. "Finally." River says. "It's about time something interesting happened." She pulls a gun from heaven knows where and sets it to stun. "Always guns with you." The Doctor grouses. "And always running with you, my love." She says cheekily. He flashes her a grin and pulls out his sonic. "Ah. I see where it is. Ready to go catch this beastie?" He asks her. She kisses him on the lips and he forgets everything. He watches in a daze as she pulls away from him and starts running. "I bet I can catch the scorpion before you!" She calls over her shoulder. The Doctor comes out of his stupor and tries his best to catch up. "We'll see about that, Song!"


	13. Not What I Meant, Exactly What I Want

Not What I Meant, Exactly What I Want

"Come along, Ponds, adventures await!" The Doctor cries, rubbing his hands together gleefully. Rory and Amy grumble a bit as they get up off the floor, the Doctor's driving had been rather bumpy and their backsides were sore from the fall. The Doctor jumps up and down on his toes in exuberance as he waits for them to pick themselves up, all the while rambling on about the planet he's picked out for them. They are about to walk out of the blue doors when the phone rings. The Doctor heaves a great, long-suffering sigh and trudges to the phone. "Hello?" He answers a bit moodily. "River!" His countenance brightens and the Pond couple comes closer to hear the Doctor and their daughter's conversation. "Hold on, you're where? Why are you there? You have a vortex manipulator, all of time and space, and you chose to go there? What do you mean the vortex manipulator isn't working anymore?" There's a sound of gunfire coming through the phone and the Doctor almost drops it in surprise. "Who's shooting at you? Never mind, I'll be right there!" The Doctor hangs up the phone and flies about the console, hitting buttons and pulling levers in a frenzy. He's a blur of tweed and elbows. "Sorry Ponds, just a quick side stop, we are going to pick up your daughter!" He turns a switch and smiles at them mischievously. "And as always, as it should be, I'm leaving the blue boringers off!"

River hadn't meant to start a fight, really she hadn't. It had been a rather dreary day at Stormcage and she had been dying for a drink. It had been so easy to get her vortex manipulator, honestly, you'd think the Stormcage guards would be smarter by now and start wearing lip coverings. Nevertheless, River couldn't complain about the convenience of it all, plus her guard that day had been rather attractive. When she had retrieved her rather handy time accessory, she picked a time in New, New, Vegas where the scene was wild and the drinks practically free. She had minded her own business at the bar, drinking alcohol to die for, when a man had drunkenly grabbed her rear end. She had spun around, but before she could do anything, another man had already punched the drunk. Suddenly, all of the other patrons decided to take their grievances out on one another, and chaos erupted. River wouldn't usually mind, but today she was not in the mood for a brawl. She pressed a few buttons on her vortex manipulator, but a man crashed into the table next to her, knocking a glass of spirits onto her person. She cursed as the manipulator hissed and smoked and pulled the blasted, now useless thing off of her wrist. There was only one available option left. She slipped away from the punching masses and made the call. "Hello?" "Hello Sweetie."

As soon as the Tardis lands, Amy flys out the door, Rory and the Doctor hurrying after her. Amy's boots crunch on broken glass and she takes in the sight before her. Fifteen men are sprawled out on the floor and in the midst of them, calmly sipping on a martini, is River. "Hello Mum, Dad, Sweetie. Lovely day we're having, no?" "River-I-you-what-" The Doctor splutters, River smirks and interrupts his stuttering. "Don't worry, I only stunned them. And only after they started shooting at things." "Why?" Amy asks, her eyebrows raised and her lips uplifted in an amused smile. "Oh, you know how it is, you come for a drink, they come for a distraction, and suddenly punches are like currency here, fast and flying." Amy and Rory laugh and the Doctor shakes a disapproving finger at River. "You naughty girl." River elegantly rises from her chair, picks her way through the snoring bodies, and kisses the Doctor with fiery passion. "There's more where that came from, Sweetie." She flirts huskily when she finally pulls away from him. The Doctor's hands have somehow made their way tightly around her waist, he's blushing, and Rory is coughing loudly. "Parents still in the room!" He cries, disgusted and horrified. River scoffs but pulls herself out of the Doctor's arms. "Oh please, I've seen you and mum do much worse." "Oi! We didn't know you were our daughter then!" Amy says, a mortified blush spreading across her cheeks. River simply smirks and Amy punches her in the shoulder. A man on the floor groans. "Umm.. How about we leave before anyone wakes up?" Rory suggests. River nods and glides into the Tardis. "Good idea. Once the bartender wakes up, he's going to be rather upset at the state of his respectable establishment, and I have no intention of paying the bill."

It's an afternoon of adventure later, and the Doctor is certain River is trying to drive him crazy. They had consulted diaries, tinkered with the future, and run for their lives. Amy and Rory had insisted eating dinner on earth, and the Doctor is discovering that sitting next to River while her parents are right in front of them is a very, very bad idea. She seems very behaved and invested in the conversation, but all the while she's writing erotic poetry in Gallifreyan circles on his upper thigh. Every once in a while she'll press her nails a little harder, and the Doctor has to cover up his squeaks with very unconvincing coughs. "River." He hisses into her ear. "Down girl." "Not a chance." She whispers, nipping at his ear before pulling away and ignoring him to chat with her parents. 'Two can play at this game.' The Doctor thinks and places his arm around her lower waist, his hand very close to her bum. He draws swirls and squiggles and feels triumphant every time she squirms under his touch. She glares at his smug countenance and her leg tries to lash out at him. "Ow!" Amy cries, jumping a little in her chair. "Someone kicked me!" "Sorry." River says, blushing and shooting lasers at the Doctor out of the corner of her eyes. "My leg had a spasm." "Did something happen?" Rory asks. "Are you alright?" "Oh, she's fine." The Doctor says, smirking at his wife. "You're fine, right honey?" "Peachy." She says through gritted teeth, smiling tightly. The Doctor knows she's biting her tongue, trying to stay appropriately silent. He pinches her bum and she starts, barely suppressing a squeak of her own. "Ok." Amy says, eyeing them suspiciously. She glances down at the table and starts to realize the battle of flirting wills between them, she smiles deviously. The Doctor blanches. "So..." Amy says slowly, the Doctor waits for the inevitable reveal and the feeling of a Roman sword through his chest. "What are you doing after dinner?" She finishes. The Doctor blinks. "I'm glad you mentioned it, Pond. I have an idea of adventure for us-" "No." She interrupts. "What are you and River doing after dinner? Rory and I are going to do something together." "We are?" Rory asks, oblivious to what Amy's trying to do. "Yes, stupid face. We are. Grown up stuff." The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Grown up stuff is boring." He says, just as oblivious. River notices this and starts to inch her hand higher and higher- "Yes, well, be grown ups and stay here. River and I need to check on the Tardis." The Doctor blurts out hurriedly, grabbing River's hand and practically pulling her out of her seat.

"You are a horrible woman." The Doctor moans against River's mouth. "I try." She says breathlessly, her hands playing with his bow tie, his hands securely in her hair. "Just terrible." He murmurs, planting a dozen kisses against her throat. She hums and he can feel her heartbeat on his tongue. She kisses him, nipping at his lips, craving all of him. He tries to keep his thoughts coherent, it's not working. At all. "But really, in front of your father." He tries, wanting to lighten the lust around them but also desperate to never stop kissing his delicious, heavenly temptress of a wife. "Darling, that was nothing compared to him and Amy." "They didn't know they needed to hide their amorous display." He reminds her gently, kissing her collarbones and shoulders. "I know, but there are just some things you can't un-see." River says, a laugh alight in her eyes. She kisses him again and again, the talking stops. The Doctor can not seem to bring her close enough to him, even though they are completely pressed together. "And you weren't helping either." She says, almost as an afterthought. "Well, when your crazy, hot wife is being an awful tease, you do what you can to retaliate." She chuckles throatily. "Are you calling me crazy?" She kisses his chin. "Yes. No! That's not what I meant!" She laughs. "We'll work on your complimenting skills later." "Yes ma'am." "Amy and Rory are going to be back soon." River groans against his skin, trying to remind herself as well. "Well then let's make ourselves scarce." They make their way down the halls of the Tardis, stealing kisses against walls and generally not going anywhere. After a bunch of bumps and bruises and breaking into laughter, the Doctor and River finally make it to their room. They hear the front door slam. "It seems the Ponds are here, should we-" "Sweetie, don't you dare say stop." He kisses her cheek. "Wouldn't dream of it." "You better not, because I want you." There's a long moment of kissing and sighs of anticipation. "Sweetie, this is generally the time when you say something sort of romantic back. I said it first, now you." "I was getting to it!" "When?" "Cheeky woman." She kisses him. After a blissful moment of lips and teeth, he pulls away slightly and kisses her closed eyelids. "River Song, you are exactly what I want." "Good. Now shut up and kiss me, old man." "Bossy woman." He kisses her open mouth, words are no longer needed.


	14. Comics, Cocoa, And Cookies

The first time River pops by to visit Rory, she nearly scares the living daylights out of him. "Hello Rory." "Ah!" Rory shrieks, although later he swears it was a very manly cough. "River! Er... Hello." He says, his heart slowing down to a normal pace. He glances down and realizes he's in his pajamas. He gestures to the stairs. "I should go change, you wait here, I can wake Amy-" "No, Rory. I came to see you, like always." Her smile is full of nostalgic sadness and she starts to fiddle with her vortex manipulator. "I see I've come too early, so sorry to bother you. I'll just be going now." "Wait." Rory grabs her wrist, halting her flustered movements. "You don't have to leave." "When are we for you?" River asks cautiously. "The last time I saw you, you were Mels, and then things got confusing and I punched Hitler." River chuckles, sharp relief flooding her features. "What about you, River? You look troubled. When are we for you?" River's eyes flicker to the ground quickly, her shoulders shrugging in dismissive nonchalance. "I'm not troubled, I just haven't seen you in a while." Rory sees through her lie but decides to let it go. River used to be Mels and Rory always knew that when Mels didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't. But sometimes, very rarely, he'd be able to coax things out of her, and he knows just how. He smiles at her, his baby girl, one of his best friends, and always such a mystery. "Want some hot cocoa and biscuits?"

Rory is eight and so very small for his age. School had been let out a while ago but he had stayed behind for his mathletes club. It's over now and Rory walks to the playground to wait for his dad who is supposed to pick him up. He is surprised to see Mels sitting on his favorite swing, she is frowning dejectedly at the twig she's twirling around in her fingers. "Hey!" He says, his voice squeaky and higher than he'd like it to be. "Hey." He tries again, his voice comically lowered. Mels looks up and scowls at him, rolling her eyes at his ridiculous tone. She ignores him as Rory walks closer. "What's wrong?" He asks, his childish concern and curiosity sincere. "Just go away." Mels growls at him. It's not the first time Rory has been alone with Mels but there's something different about today, her fiery spirit seems duller. Rory doesn't like it. As much as she teases him and pushes him around, Rory counts Mels to be his friend, and it distresses him to see her so upset. "Really, what's the matter?" Rory asks, trying again. Mels glares at him but doesn't say a word. Rory had actually expected her to punch him, but when the hit never came, he knew something was wrong. He sits next to her, but the only swing left is rather tall and Rory has quite the struggle to climb onto it. He jumps and pulls himself up with scrawny arms, it takes him several tries to make it, but when he accomplishes his impressive feat, Mels does not congratulate him on his victory. She doesn't even insult him, not one word escapes her sassy lips. Now he knows something is definitely wrong. Rory decides that if she's playing the quiet game, he's going to win. It shouldn't be too difficult, he's had loads of practice from playing with Amy. He stays silent, never pumping his feet to actually swing, he simply waits. He has to wait for quite a long time, Mels is stubbornly resolute to keep her mouth shut. After what seems like an eternity, she finally heaves a tremendous sigh and addresses Rory. "Leave!" She demands. "Not until you tell me what's wrong." Rory says. Their eyes lock into a staring contest and for once Rory is taller than Mels. He's glad for his tall swing, even if he doesn't know how he's going to get down. Mels stares up at him, she looks too tired for her age. She blinks first and Rory tries not to be too smug about this little victory. "I won." He says, almost in awe. "You did not." Mels scowls but he is too happy to be affected. "I did too, and now you have to answer the question." "We weren't even playing a game." "You're only saying that because you're too chicken to tell me what's wrong." "I am not a chicken!" She says, insulted. "Then tell me what's wrong." She groans in defeat. "There's nothing wrong, people are just stupid." Rory blinks, that wasn't really what he had been expecting. He realizes that she's still not saying what's really on her mind. "Who's stupid?" He asks. "Just people." Mels says, her hands thrown up in the air in frustration. "But who?" Rory persists, determined to find out who had annoyed his friend so much. "_Everybody_!" Mels shouts, fed up with his questions. "Me and Amy too?" Rory asks, trying his best not to sound hurt. "No, just everybody else." They don't talk for a little while, Rory stews over Mels words. He notices that they are the only kids left at the school playground, everyone else had already been picked up. "Did Jane forget to pick you up again?" He asks gently. If it's possible, Mels scowl deepens further. "I don't care. I don't need her, or Sam." "Of course you do, they're your parents." Rory says in his calm logic. Mels says nothing, Rory wonders if he's made a blunder. "They're not my parents, they're my __foster__parents. I know my parents, they just-" Mels stops, looking off into the distance. She looks scared, but when Rory turns his head to see what she's staring at, nothing is there. "What were you looking at?" He asks, his neck craning to see what he's missed. "What? I wasn't looking at anything." "Yeah you were. You were talking about your parents and then you just stopped." Mels looks at him like he's mental. "No I wasn't." "You were just saying how Jane and Sam are stupid!" He says accusingly. "Well, they are. So?" Rory shakes his head, he opens his mouth to argue, but his dad beeps his car horn, signaling that he was there. "Do you want to come home with me? I'm sure Jane wouldn't mind, and you could call her at our house to make sure." Mels looks skeptical. "What would we even do?" "I don't know, whatever you'd like to do. We could watch tv, or read comics, or invite Amy over, whatever you want." "Amy has an appointment with a doctor." "Well then just you and me, it could still be fun." "I don't know.." "There's also hot cocoa and biscuits." "Fine." Rory smiles and jumps down from his swing, it's much too high of a jump and he ends up sprawled across the ground. It makes Mels giggle though, so Rory doesn't mind too much. He stands up and offer Mels a hand up. She stares at the offending appendage in contempt. "Come on." Rory says affably. "It's just a hand." She sighs but grabs his hand, letting him pull her up from her swing. "I'm just doing this for the cocoa and biscuits." She says. Rory just smiles.

Rory's twelve and still rather scrawny. His voice is starting to crack and he's a gangly mess of skinny limbs. His best friends are Mels and Amy and they get into quite a lot of trouble together. Of course, Mels gets into enough trouble on her own, whether with teachers or students alike. Rory is walking down the nearly empty school halls when he hears, "You all are a bunch of Neanderthals." It's Mels voice and Rory is already heaving a sigh at the fight coming in the near future. "What did you call me?" A boy's voice asks. It's John, the reigning bully of the school, who was the proud owner of little to no functioning brain cells and a gang of even more idiotic friends. "Are you deaf as well as dumb?" Mels asks, Rory squeezes his eyes shut in exasperation. John's hands clench and raise. "You little-" "Hey! Hey now, there's no need for fists!" Rory cries out, running to them, his palms out and his fingers splayed in a placating gesture. "We can get along, can't we Mels?" He asks her, his arm going around her shoulders to calm her. Her reply is a glare and a sharp elbow to his ribs. "Not if they refuse to stop being such rude half wits." She says, her voice sharp in its pointed anger. "I don't have to take this from a girl like __you__. Even with the wimp," John says, motioning to Rory, "you're still outnumbered. You can't beat us." "Can't I?" Mels says in her bold, bored indifference. John swings a fist and Mels easily dodges it, she punches his throat and he chokes for breath, falling to the ground in a second. His lackeys stare at him in horror and then up at Mels in fear. "Anybody else?" She asks, her arms crossed. The boys shake their heads mutely, pick up their still gasping leader, and run away. "You are __so__going to get detention." Rory groans. Mels smiles at him smugly. "I don't think so. Those boys could never admit being defeated by a girl, and the only other person who saw this was you. You aren't going to tell on me, are you?" She asks, her eyelashes fluttering in perfect innocence. Rory rolls his eyes. "Of course not. But Mels, you can't go around beating everybody up." Mels laughs. "Well I wasn't going to beat up _everybody_, just those who annoy me." Rory sighs, but his smile of amusement gives him away. "You still coming over?" He asks as he starts to walk away. "Are there still biscuits and cocoa?" She catches up to him, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Ow. When will I stop having to bribe you to come over?" "When your food stops being so delicious." "Was that I compliment I just heard?" "Are there going to be biscuits and cocoa or not?" Yeah, there are." "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Mels breaks into a sprint, hollering over her shoulder, "Beat you to the car!" "Mels! I'm not racing- wait up!"

"Why'd you do it?" Rory asks. He and Mels are lounging on the couch, reading comics together and munching contentedly on homemade biscuits. "Hmm?" Mels asks, fully engrossed in the glossy pages of the epic adventures and battles of Amazon Man. Rory is studying his friend, more focused on trying to figure her out than the drawn cartoons. "Why'd you pick a fight with John? I mean, yeah, he's a jerk, but you usually don't seem to care about his insults. So why'd you get upset now?" Rory asks quietly, trying to understand his enigma of a friend. He's never quite gotten the hang of her thought pattern, she would say whatever she felt like saying, regardless of the consequences, and yet sometimes she was more empathetic than anyone Rory had ever met. She was a brilliant student, she was one of the smartest people Rory knew, yet she would purposefully answer questions wrong, simply because she felt the textbooks had reigned in tyranny for long enough. It takes a while for Mels to answer Rory's question. She sets down her comic and sips her cocoa, an undefinable expression dancing across her features. "They weren't making fun of me, they were making fun of Angeline." She says, her voice dark with emotion. Rory winces, Angeline had medical issues and was confined to a wheel chair. She had also been given up for adoption when she was very young, her parents hadn't been able to take care of her. She was the sweetest girl in the entire class and smart as well, but nothing could save her from the whispered gossip and ignorant ridicule. "They were making fun of things she had no control over, as if she wanted all that crap to happen to her. As if it was her fault. I couldn't just stand there and listen to the sheer stupidity. Nobody wants bad things to happen to them, it just happens anyways. It's not like we've personally insulted the universe, the universe is indifferent." "They're idiots and totally deserved to be beaten up, but you could have simply told a teacher." Rory says, Mels scowls at the living room ceiling. "Teachers are adults, and adults believe the cruelty of adolescent's is just a 'phase' that we can grow out of. They believe they grew out of their prejudices and mean nature all on their own, they've forgotten someone taught them kindness, so they don't teach it to us either." Rory doesn't quite understand what Mels is trying to say so he says nothing. She jerks her head dismissively and goes back to her comic, pretending to be fascinated by the colored drawings of a chiseled man in a unitard. Her neck is bent and Rory catches a glimpse of purple skin. "Mels, did John actually manage to hit you?" He asks, his voice quivering with rage. "What? No, of course not. He can't even land a punch on a tree, much less me." Mels says with a snort. "Then how did you get that?" He says heatedly, pointing to the side of her neck. She looks down, barely seeing it, and her eyes widen in surprise. "Huh." "Huh?" Rory asks incredulously. "That's all you have to say? Mels, you couldn't have done this to yourself, someone must have done this to you. Who was it?" "No one." Rory's eyes harden. "Was it your foster parents?" "No! Jane and Sam can be forgetful, but they'd never hurt me!" "Well then who did?" "I don't know!" "Mels-" "Rory, I really don't know, I swear. Maybe I got smacked harder than I thought in football." Rory remembers that football game, Mels had gotten hit in the neck with the ball. "Ok." He concedes, still a bit suspicious. "But you'd tell me, right? Because you can, you can tell me anything." "I know, __dad__." She teases, Rory smiles. "Can I help it? You worry me." They go back to reading and start chatting about lighter topics. "You know, that was one wicked right hook. Who knew you could fight so well? I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Rory says, amused. "Oh Rory." Mels says, a mischievous, unfathomable glint in her eyes. "You have no idea."

Rory is sixteen now and as gangly as ever. People say he'll grow out of this awkward stage but he thinks he's always been awkward, now he's just tall and awkward. He's in love with Amy, but that's not a surprise either. She's feisty and funny and so very Scottish, falling in love with anybody else was never an option. Amy is so beautifully clueless to Rory's deep affection and hopeless devotion. In fact, she's tried to set him up with several girls, including Mels. "Absolutely not!" Rory and Mels say in unison. They're all hanging out in Rory's room and Amy is trying to make them see the reason in her relationship advice. "Come on, you two connect so well." "I steal his food and borrow his books, that doesn't make us a match, Amy." Mels says, horrified. "Yeah, we're friends, that's all it could ever be." Rory agrees hurriedly. "Fine. But you two deserve to be happy." "And we can't be happy single?" Mels asks, her eyebrows raising. Amy laughs and shoves her lightly. "That's not what I meant. Rory's so sweet and caring, he'd be the perfect boyfriend! And you-" "I'm already spoken for." Mels interrupts, Amy giggles. "Oh yeah, how could I forget? You want to marry my __Raggedy___ Doctor_." Mels smirks, her shoulders shrugging. "He's a funny, mad man with a blue, disappearing box. Sounds like my kind of guy." "So, not Rory?" Amy asks, her eyes gleaming with an unknown, unrecognized happiness. "Not Rory. Sorry, Rory." Rory smiles in his quiet understanding. "Don't worry, I'm practically your dad anyways." Mels laughs. "That is __totally__it. You and Amy are my parents, you've bailed me out of jail enough times to have the qualifications." Rory and Amy laugh. Mels grins smugly, as though she had told a private joke that only she knew.

Amy eventually has to go home but Mels stays behind, idly flipping through the pages of Rory's old comics. "When are you going to tell her?" She asks. "When it's the right time." "And when is that?" "I don't know." She sighs. "You can't wait forever." "I can wait for as long as it takes." Rory expects Mels to get irritated, or fed up with his patience, but instead she smiles happily. "I'm glad to hear it. Rory and Amy, the most patient couple to ever walk the earth." Rory smiles and Mels can't help but smile back. "Don't think I've gone all soft on you." She says, punching him in the shoulder to prove her point. "I'm not a romantic." "You? A romantic?" Rory asks jokingly, rubbing his throbbing arm. "I'd never even dream of it, you'd kill me on the spot." "That's right." Mels nods in approval. She glances at her watch and groans. "I should probably go home. I was supposed to be home an hour ago." "What? Aren't you going to get in trouble?" Mels shakes her head. "If Jane hasn't called by now, she's already forgotten about my curfew. Besides, it's not like I actually follow curfews." "Your parents are awfully forgetful." "Yes, and it's __definitely__not because they're old. It's because the house is cursed with silent, forgettable ghosts." "I'm serious, Mels. Doesn't it ever strike you as odd?" She shrugs nonchalantly, stands up, but doesn't head to the door. "Mels? Are you ok?" She blinks, as though he had pulled her from the depths of her own thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, yeah." She ducks her head and mumbles something unintelligible. "Could you say that again?" Rory asks. She huffs, squares her shoulders, and almost reaches his gaze. "I just don't feel like going home." She says quietly, as if confessing a shamed sin. "Oh. Well then don't." "But I should." Rory stares at Mels. She's biting her lip and looking, for once, unsure of herself. She looks ready to burst with a million trapped and repressed words, but she doesn't say a thing. So Rory does. He says the only thing he can, and unknowingly, the only thing she wants to hear. "Would you like some hot cocoa and biscuits?"

Rory and River are in the kitchen, reminiscing over memories long since past, all the while sipping hot cocoa and chewing biscuits noisily. Rory doesn't forget she is his daughter or his old friend, he can't, but the awkwardness that had enveloped their small talk slowly dissipates. She's River and different, but Rory can still see hints of Mels in River's sass. He enjoys talking to River, she's funny and her adventures with and without the Doctor are amusing. There's a lull in the conversation and laughter, Rory sees his chance to ask River the question that has played in the back of his mind since he discovered her identity. "Did you know the Silence were in your house in Leadworth?" River plucks a marshmallow from her mug and pops it into her mouth before answering. "I know it now, I didn't know it then. I had an inkling, a sneaking suspicion, but how can you be sure of something you're constantly forgetting?" "Do you remember what happened in your house?" Her eyes veil slightly, and Rory prays she won't shut him out. "Some things I remember, some things have a lingering sense dread, yet no memory. It's like a nightmare you can't remember, but you know you've dreamt." Rory nods, he sees the topic is starting to upset her. She's stoic and her face is impassive, but Rory can see how uncomfortable she is. "So, this means you've always known Amy and I would wind up together." He says, graciously changing the subject. River smirks, gratitude evident in her sparkling eyes. "Ah, father dear, __spoilers__."

They talk late into the night, chatting about work, prison, and books. All too soon, Rory yawns and River has to go. "You could always stay here for the night, Amy would love it." River smiles wistfully but shakes her head. "I can't stay, I'm sorry. But it's been lovely to see you." "It's been great to see you too, visit again soon." "I shall." She stands up and Rory stands with her. "This is going to sound weird, but... May I give you a hug?" River smiles, if she's surprised, she doesn't show it. "I would love it." Rory wraps his arms around her, he can feel her smiling over his shoulder. "What's got you so amused?" He asks as she pulls away from him. "You're acting like it's the last time you'll ever see me. I can assure you, it's not." "Isn't that spoilers?" Rory says, a bit miffed that he's getting so emotional. "Not exactly, not if helps you sleep at night." Rory laughs. "How is it you always know just what to say?" "I learned from the best." "The Doctor?" "No. You." "Me?" "Of course. A girl tends to listen to her father." At that, Rory hangs his head. "I haven't been a very good father." River hugs him again tightly. "Don't say that. You were the best father a girl could have ever asked for. Perhaps you just have to remember." She pecks him on the cheek and pushes a couple buttons on her vortex manipulator. "You'll see me again soon, Rory." "Goodbye River." "Not goodbye, just.. Until then."

River disappears in her customary flash and Rory slowly makes his way up the stairs and into bed. Amy is already asleep and immediately melts into Rory's frame, pushing and tugging at him until she's comfortable. Rory smiles down at her fondly, even in her sleep, she's __so__Scottish. He yawns, already falling into the depths of unconsciousness. He closes his eyes and dreams, dreams of a baby, a little girl with fire in her eyes, and a proud, grown up woman. None of the faces look alike, but Rory loves all of them the same. The faces are his daughter, and he dreams of each one. He dreams of his and Amy's small family, and he remembers.


	15. They Walked The Sky

They Walked The Sky

It's a beautiful day on the planet Azureth, the sun is washing it's pale light on the blue forests and the air sings of rain. The Doctor grins as he struts out of the Tardis, the adventures to be had on a blue planet are limitless. Plus, the Ponds were in Leadworth, so no one could complain about the Doctor wearing a fez. He meanders about the blue trees, searching for the indigenous, humanoid species of the planet. They find him first.

A shot rings out from the foliage, knocking the Doctor's fez right off of his head. A figure emerges from the shadows and the Doctor relaxes, the person is well known to him. "Hi honey, I'm home! I wasn't expecting to see you here, Song." River doesn't say a word, she stomps up to him and smacks him smartly across the face. "Ow! What was that for?" He cries, holding his stinging cheek. "You're late." River growls, her eyes aflame with aggravation. "I have been sending messages to you for weeks!" "Why? I thought you had your vortex manipulator on your person at all times." "It broke, just as your psychic paper must have broken, otherwise you better have a bloody good reason for ignoring me." "River, I didn't get your message." River's tirade dies on her lips and she stares into his eyes. "I'm sorry." He says sincerely, upset that he's unknowingly let her down. She nods with a sharp jerk, her mouth opens to speak but she is interrupted by a small group of the native children. Their skin is completely blue and their eyes gleam with curiosity. "Lady River, is it safe?" One of the elder children asks. "Yes." She says, her voice gentle and her tone quite different than the tone she had used with the Doctor. The children inch closer to River and some of the braver ones approach the Doctor. A little girl picks up the Doctor's fallen fez and gazes at it with a mixture of awe and disgust. "Lady River, what __is__this ugly thing?" "Oi!" The Doctor says indignantly, he crouches down to the child's level and speaks softly to her. "That is called a fez, and fezzes are very, very cool." The girl's eyes widen and she puts the hat on top of her head, she crinkles her nose. "The thing doesn't feel cold to me." River laughs and picks up the girl, plopping the child onto her hip. "No, silly one. He means the hat is good, even if it looks a little goofy." The fez falls over the child's eyes and she pushes it back up with a giggle. River, completely ignoring the Doctor, takes the hand of a little boy and calls to the other children, they make their way into the thick of the jungle. "Hurry up, Doctor." River finally calls over her shoulder. "It's going to rain soon, and I'm not above leaving you behind."

It does rain, and not even the Doctor's returned fez can save his tweed. River is still giving him the semi-cold shoulder, so he chats with one of the older boys. "How did River come to this planet?" The Doctor asks. "She appeared out of thin air, there was a bright flash and there she was, cursing at the magic bracelet around her wrist, a fire-stick hanging from her hips. The Lady River had been sent to us from the gods, to save our village from destruction." "What destruction?" The Doctor asks, intrigued. "There are neighboring villages who wish to own our lands and have attacked us many times, but ever since Lady River has come to us, we have won." "Oh. Fighting." The Doctor says, immediately uninterested. "She is a mighty warrior. You must be as well, did you meet her on a battle field?" "Well-" "Don't answer that." River interrupts. "Spoilers." The Doctor beams at her, happy that she's finally paying attention to him. "You're talking to me again!" "Maybe." They consult timelines, they aren't completely linear but close enough. "So, why did you choose this planet?" River leans nearer to him and talks quietly, the Doctor's body sings in response to her closeness. "It was an accident, I hit the wrong button in my escape." "What were you escaping from?" River smirks mischievously. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." The Doctor rolls his eyes but his lips smile against his will. "You naughty girl." She winks at him and he can no longer resist the urge to kiss her. He leans forward but she puts her fingers to his lips and pushes his face away. "Down boy." "But, River." he whines. "Kissing in the rain is romantic." She makes a face. "Exactly." "Is it because you're still mad at me?" The Doctor asks worriedly. River sighs and shakes her head. "No, Sweetie. It's not your fault." He knows this, he can't help but still feel guilty. River senses this and tries to lighten the mood. She leans into him and speaks quietly into his ear, her breath tickling his hair. "This just means I get to meet a different you here and have _another_ adventure, and since you haven't met me here yet, I'll be getting an _older_ Doctor." The Doctor's neck heats and he tries not to be jealous of himself. "You can have an adventure with the me you have right now." He grumbles. She smiles, gives him a little peck on the cheek, and starts to walk away from him. "Oi, what was that?" "You wanted a kiss." "That wasn't a kiss, that was pathetic. You must be slipping, Song." River turns back to him, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "What?" She asks, he gulps. "You heard me." She stalks back to him, he waits for another slap. She kisses him instead, he dips her and kisses her back. He ignores the catcalls of the boys and the giggles of the girls and loses himself to the sensation of River. His hands tangle into her rain-soaked hair and their lips linger, she laughs as she pulls away. "That was horribly cliche." "You loved it." She doesn't deign to reply and turns on her heels. "We're almost to the village. Come on, Doctor." She smiles devilishly. "It's time you met my boyfriend." "Your what?!"

Her boyfriend turns out to be the chieftain of the village, and unfortunately for the Doctor, very handsome and _very_ attracted to River. Thankfully, she had only been teasing the Doctor about the chieftain being her boyfriend. In truth, she held the young man's advances in a disdainful indifference. "Lady River, welcome back! Did you find success in berry-picking with the children?" The chieftain calls as he walks up to the group, his arms raised in welcome. "There was a disturbance, we found something else. It turned out to be my husband." River says, jerking her head in the direction of the Doctor. His hands are full, being pulled along by the no-longer shy children, so he simply nods to the chieftain with a happy smile. "Hello, I'm the husband." The chieftain's face falls and his friendliness turns cold. "Oh." He turns to River, his attitude a simpering confidence. He kisses River's hands and speaks loudly. "Lady River, the council meeting is about to start, allow me to escort you there." River slips her hands out of his and pats his arm. "Thank you, but I'd like to talk to my husband for a moment." His lips pucker, as if he's tasted something sour, but he smiles politely and nods. "Of course." He walks off and the children scamper back to their mothers. "He seems...friendly." The Doctor says, River chuckles. "I detest him." "Really? Usually you eat up the adoration of young men. Shall I count the times-" He sees River's scowl. "Ahem. Never mind." River smacks him lightly on the chest and starts to walk, her arm wrapped around the crook of his elbow, guiding him down the worn, dirt path. "Where are we going?" The Doctor asks, tripping slightly. "The council meeting." She stops and faces him. "Just a warning in advance, you're not going to like what you hear." "What do you mean?" "Chieftain Shue has a way with words and he's as cunning as he is blood thirsty. He wants to wage war with the village's enemies, and the council will agree with him. Anything can sound reasonable if it's spoken well enough, and our blue friend knows that all too well."

Chieftain Shue did indeed have a silver tongue. He won the entire council over with his honeyed words of honor and defense, when his intentions were really filled with a lust for power and bloodshed. The Doctor was horrified, but his words were useless. Even River, who was revered as a goddess, was powerless to stop the frenzy chieftain Shue was creating. Like the oncoming storm, a battle was brewing.

"Are you worried?" The Doctor asks River. They are lying together on a pallet, listening to the spattering raindrops hit the straw roof of their hut. "No." She answers quietly. He kisses her bare shoulder, her hair tickling his nose. "We've faced a second Big Bang, honey, we've seen the end of the universe." "Perfect place for wedding, yeah?" He chuckles. "It definitely fit us perfectly. This is small potatoes compared to that." River rolls over to face the Doctor, her eyebrows raised skeptically. "Small potatoes? Honestly, Sweetie, where do you get these phrases?" "The same place where you get sass-free wives." There's a smacking sound. "Ow. Joking, dear." "Oh, shut up." "Make me." She kisses him, her lips hot against his. "That is a very good way to get me to zip it." He says dazedly, his eyes still closed. River chuckles and kisses his protruding chin. "River." He gasps, her trail of burning kisses along his jawline a major, happy distraction, but he needs to focus. "River, shouldn't we talk?" River huffs but stops her ministrations, her forehead pressed against the Doctor's chest. "Talk about what, my love?" Her voice is muffled. "Tomorrow." She pulls away slightly. "What about it?" She asks a bit warily. "Are you nervous?" "This is not my first battle, Doctor." She scoffs, her voice sobers as she contemplates the consequences that are sure to come tomorrow. "But it's a first for many of the villagers, they aren't prepared. They have been fed a dream of honor and glory, instead of the senseless death and pain that really comes from war." The Doctor is silent, not sure how to respond because there's nothing to say. So he holds her tighter, as if to ward off the shadows of her worry. She is quiet as well, breathing in and out in time with him, listening to the sound of the matching beat of their hearts. "Oh, I've got it!" She cries suddenly. "Got what?" She kisses him dizzily. "I've got an idea. A crazy, mad, wonderful idea that just might work!" "Well, what is it?" She laughs and kisses him again. "I'll tell you tomorrow. We'll need to use Sexy, I'm sure she won't mind." "Woman, what is this insane idea?!" The Doctor asks, too happy to be truly annoyed. She just shakes her head, a Cheshire grin adorning her lips. "Spoilers."

"River, are you sure this is going to work?" The Doctor asks as the Tardis shakes. "No, but it's the best chance we've got." "We're putting quite a lot of faith in their beliefs and superstitions." "Ironic, isn't it?" The Tardis shakes again and the Doctor curses. "What's with the terrible driving?" He shouts over the din of the whirring Tardis. "I'm flying her while she's invisible, she doesn't like it." River shouts back. "It can't be that different than flying her normally." "Well if it's so easy, then __you__do it!" "I'm building the tesla coil, you know, the one __you__asked me to build! And out of kitchen utensils too, if I might add!" "Well, are you done yet?" "Give me a moment." "We don't have a moment." "We've got a time machine." "Sweetie, none of your cheek, I have to concentrate." "You started it." He mumbles. He feels River's glare on the back of his neck, he works faster.

The fight begins without River and the Doctor. Both men and women are on the battlefield, armed with spears, bows, and arrows. They are unprepared for what they see, their neighbors and friends are being cut down before their very eyes. The chieftain's eyes are fiery in their manic passion, he does not call for retreat. "Do not fall back!" He screams to his frightened troops. "Surely the gods are with us, we shall not lose!" A shaft of white lightning shoots from the sky and hits a tree in the middle of the fighting. "They are not!" Shouts River's disembodied voice. And suddenly, there she is, standing in the middle of the sky, shining in all of her glory. "Lady River." Many of the people whisper reverently, their panic already forgotten, their weapons falling limply to their sides. "You told me you believed I was sent from the gods, so believe me now when I tell you this war was not from them. They want peace, not this pointless bloodshed." "And why should we trust you?" The other chieftain asks insolently. "How do we know they gave you this divine right to be their messenger?" River points to him and another bolt of lightning hits the ground right between his feet. He falls to his knees and cowers before her. "Would any one else like to question my claim?" She asks coldly, her eyes daring anyone to disagree. There's silence and she speaks again, her voice a powerful, compelling force. "You __will__form a peace treaty and you __will__be fair. I will return to make sure you follow it, of that you can be sure." The Doctor appears behind River and the warriors gasp. "You will add the other villages in your peace treaty, there will be no more raids." He says solemnly. River silently thanks him for fixing her oversight. "Thank you." An elder says, he hobbles out of his safe place and into the light of the blue sun. "Thank you." The blue Azurethians echo. The Doctor grabs River's hand and together, they vanish.

"You are a goddess." The Doctor says against River's lips. Their victory is intoxicating and their relief makes them giddy. River's joy permeates the air and seeps into his skin, he inhales her perfume and tastes her laugh. "Apparently I am." She says, her eyes alight with happiness. "You know it might not be as peaceful as you'd like when you do go back." The Doctor says, his arms tight around her waist. "I'll deal with that when I get to it." She says confidently. He kisses her again. They are standing by the pool, on River's insistence. The Tardis' lights are glowing cheerfully and she hums for her darling Time Lord and Lady. "Lady River." The Doctor gasps when he pulls away from her searing lips. "You never fail to surprise me, you are amazing." She smiles and pulls at his lapels. "Tell me something I don't know." She kisses him heavily, and with that, she pulls them both backwards into the pool. "River!" "Surprise, Sweetie."

In the blue jungles of the planet Azureth, there's a story. A story handed down from generation to generation, a story that tells of a powerful couple. A warrior messenger of the gods and her lanky, god-like husband. She came to the peoples in a flash, he came in a blue box. She wore her curls, he wore a fez. Together, they stopped an unnecessary war and saved many lives. They would return again, to keep the peace alive as they traveled the earth as celestial beings. The tales were shared and songs were sung for all the ages, the story of the pale gods who walked the sky.


	16. Drops Of Jupiter

Drops Of Jupiter

The Doctor fiddles with his bow tie impatiently as he waits for his visitor to arrive. "Hello Sweetie." A sultry voice coos. He beams as he spins around. "River! You got my message, yeah?" "It had better be important, I was in the middle of my vacation." The Doctor gasps, his hand reaching to clutch one of his hearts. "You went on vacation __without__me?" River smirks, sashays up to him, and pecks him on the cheek placatingly. "I went to Jupiter, Sweetie, you know how they feel about you there." "How was I supposed to know the Monarch's wife was flirting with me and __not__actually talking about the weather?" River laughs. "Sweetie, you can't be that oblivious." "I was! Wait, I'm not-" River interrupts him by kissing him, he hums against her mouth. "Mmm..you taste like sunshine." He says dazedly. "You are making less sense than usual." "I make perfect sense! Perhaps you just aren't listening carefully enough." He teases lightly, River scoffs. "I listen better than you." "Oi! I'm a good listener!" The Doctor cries indignantly. "I'm just better at talking!" River chuckles and pulls at his braces, he falls onto her lips. His hands wander as he kisses her, ruby red drops of crystals are woven in her golden strands of hair. "What are these?" He asks, distracted. She sighs and pulls away from him. "A gift." "From who?" "Didn't you have something you needed me for?" She asks, changing the subject. The Doctor pulls at one of her curls, gives her a knowing look, but goes along with it nonetheless. "Ah, yes. First, time lines. When are we for you? Have we done Area 52?" River nods as she pulls out her blue book from the folds of her dress. "We just did Azaba for me." "Oh, good." The Doctor claps his hands once in glee and kisses River again. "Hello, wife." He says contentedly. "Hello, husband." She replies, just as happily. "Now, what was it you messaged me for?" The Doctor blushes and scratches the back of his neck. "Well, I was helping a younger you find yourself, and then you told me I couldn't cook!" River's eyes flash and the Doctor speaks faster. "I know, it seems silly now, but it was important then, plus, it's nice to see an older you-not that you're old! I just meant-" River's laugh stops his panicked rambles. "Really, Sweetie? You called me to teach you to cook for a younger me?" She smiles at his flustered countenance. The Doctor huffs but his sheepish grin gives him away. "Bless." She kisses him lightly, her hands smoothing his lapels and her lips soothing his frazzled nerves. "Are you going to help me or not?" He mumbles against her mouth. "Of course, Sweetie." She walks away farther into the Tardis and the Doctor stares at her back in befuddlement. "Where are you going?" "To change. I'm not cooking in this." The Doctor gives her outfit a closer than usual look, she's wearing a long orange sundress with a plunging neckline. "Why not?" River shakes her head, her features showing both exasperation and fondness. "Because I hardly look appropriate for cooking." "Nonsense." The Doctor says. "You look amazing." "You sentimental idiot." River saunters off, disappearing down the brightly lit halls. "If you're not back in fifteen minutes, I'm coming after you!" The Doctor calls after her. "I'm looking forward to it."

The Doctor is in the second kitchen, searching for all the ingredients to make breakfast. He had almost everything, he figured, now if he could just find the milk... "It's behind that ridiculously big bowl of custard you insist on keeping in every kitchen." River's voice says behind him. "It's not ridiculous," he mutters. "It's __necessary___._" He glances over to her, starts, and bonks his head on the cupboard door. "Ow! River, what are you wearing?" She looks at him in bewilderment, he looks at her in shocked appreciation, covered up by a thin layer of horror. "Yoga pants and a tank top, Sweetie. Why?" "Never mind." He mumbles. "I just didn't expect them to be so..._tight_." "Do you want me to change again?" "No! No, not at all! I just wasn't expecting.." He hears the humor laced within her words and stops. He pokes her lightly in the abdomen and scowls at her chuckle. "Be nice to me, woman, I'm making you breakfast." "Oh, is that what this is?" She turns to the mess on the counter. "Well, not yet. We still don't have the milk." "I'll get it." She opens up the refrigerator and bends over to grab the carton. The Doctor gulps. River smirks, straightens up, and leans into her blushing husband. "Liking what you see?" "Now, now," he says, his words fumbling over themselves. "Let's not get sidetracked, we've got some cooking to do." River traces light circles on the fabric of his shirt and he forgets to breathe, let alone make food. "Oh, what's a little procrastination?" She murmurs, her lips fractions away from his. Her breath is light while the Doctor's gets increasingly heavier. It doesn't help that she's playing with his belt loops. "Good idea. After all, why do today what you could do tomorrow?" "Precisely." He opens his mouth to add something else, but it is quickly covered by River's. He can't say that he minds.

"River! Where've you gone?" The Doctor shouts as he tromps down the halls. "You were supposed to teach me how to make crepes __five hours__ago!" He hears Mozart wafting through the hallways and follows the trail of music. He finds his wife and just has to stare at her for a moment. "What are you doing?" "Tae-Bo." "You're floating." "Since when does exercise have to serve the laws of gravity?" "Don't fall." "Couldn't even if I was that clumsy, which I'm not. I turned off the gravity in the gym." "How-" "Child of the Tardis." He scowls. "So, she's playing favorites now?" "Oh Sweetie, it's always been her and you." He watches her silently. She's weaving through a series of complicated kicks in the air, she breaks into a slight sweat. The Doctor tries not to find it extremely sexy. He fails. He coughs. "Ahem, River, shouldn't we be in the kitchen?" "You'd like a repeat of this afternoon?" The Doctor blushes deep scarlet. "I just meant-you said you'd help me!" "I did. I never said when." The Doctor fumes before a delicious thought pops up in his mind. "I see, you can't cook." "What? No-" "I get it now. You can't cook, so you tease me until I cook for you! Very clever, Doctor Song." River pulls a remote from heaven knows where and clicks a button viciously. The gravity resets and she falls lightly to the floor. The Doctor is jealous of her grace, but he's too smug to care. "Now listen here, you bumbling giraffe," The Doctor huffs. "I can cook, I just choose not to." "Because you can't." She glares at him, her arms crossed in annoyance. "I __can___._ I just don't like to." "Sure, sure you can." She growls and the Doctor holds up his hands in a placating gesture, a buried smile just on the edge of blooming across his face. "Here, how about this? We each make separate crepes and whoever makes the best one wins." "What does the winner, and by winner I mean me, win?" "Teaching the loser how to cook." "That doesn't sound like a prize." "And the loser will have to do __anything__the winner tells them too." River quirks an eyebrow in interest. She mulls it over for a second. "Of course, if you're too __chicken__, I suppose-" "Fine." The Doctor beams and bops her nose. "Excellent." "I'll meet you in the kitchen in twenty minutes." "Why so long?" "I just exercised, I need a shower." "Or perhaps you're stalling." She scowls and stalks away. "Have I ever told you that you're adorable when you're mad?" He calls after her, her reply is hurled back quickly. "Oh, shut up!"

He's in the third kitchen this time, ingredients already found and surrounding him. His mind is steeled against any surprises, River is not getting out of anything this time. She saunter into the room, wearing jeans and a loose shirt. The Doctor both appreciates and mourns the loss of the distraction. "Ready?" He asks, his hands rubbing together in anticipation of victory. "Let's get this over with." She says unenthusiastically. "Grouchy." He teases, she just stares at the food-covered counter with distaste. "Okay, rules. No cheating, no sabotaging, and no distracting." He says, wagging a finger in her face, she bites it playfully. "Fine. No using your sonic on the appliances." He pouts and sucks on his wounded appendage. "Fine." "Are you ready to lose, Doctor?" "Oh, it's on, Song."

Forty-five minutes later, and the Doctor is feeling rather proud of himself. Apparently, sometimes following the cookbook actually works. So what if the crepe has quite a few wrinkles? It's good, especially for a first try. "All right, Song, I've finished. Come and feast your eyes on this beauty, and then we can eat it." River hides whatever she had been working on and walks over to look. She takes a seat right next to him and gazes at his art. "It's...interesting." She says, her head tilted to an angle. "What do you mean?" "Well, Sweetie, it's sort of falling apart." "It's harder to flip than eggs are!" The Doctor says indignantly. "I'm sure it is, dear." She says consolingly. "Well then, let's see yours." He says, still defensive. She sighs and brings over her covered plate. She pulls off the lid. A golden, perfect crepe meets the Doctor's scrutinizing gaze. The strawberry filling is perfectly surrounded by the still steaming, thin pancake. A magnificent dollop of fluffy whipped cream decorated the top. River had even gone the extra mile and made a little swirly design on the plate with pink-colored syrup. "Oh." Is all he manages to say. She gingerly takes a bite of his mangled crepe, she smiles in surprise. "It actually tastes ok." "Of course it does." The Doctor says sulkily. "Aesthetics aren't everything... What do you mean it only tastes _ok_?" She forks off a bite of the food she made and feeds it to him. He can't suppress his sigh of satisfaction. "Oh." He says again. "I __told__you I could cook." "And you're always right." He says sarcastically. "I am. Now, about you doing whatever I say-" "Wait a minute, you have to teach me to cook first." She shoves another bite into his mouth, he chews contentedly. "In a bit. We have time." She eats the rest of his creation, taking slow little bites. The Doctor watches the movement of her mouth, the bit of whipped cream decorating the corner of her lips, her throat as she swallows. "You make eating look illegal." He says hoarsely. She feeds him another mouthwatering bite and winks. "And don't you forget it. Now shut up and eat your food."

"Blast!" The Doctor curses. "I told you, Sweetie, you're pouring it too thickly." "Oh, who made you boss?" River smirks. "You did." He fumes and throws the gloppy mess into the trash. "This is hopeless." He says mournfully. "You can try again." "It's never going to be perfect." "Nothing is ever perfect." "Well __yours__was!" His compliment almost comes off as an insult. River smiles at him affectionately, her hand ruffling through his floppy hair. "It's ok. It doesn't matter if it's perfect." "Yes, it does." He says stubbornly, his pout both childish and endlessly endearing. "Well, let's come back to it later. Do you want to make something else?" The Doctor's countenance brightens. "Oh, yes. I heard something about a soy latte that I wanted to try." "Like you even need caffeine." River says, he bops her on the nose. "Just teach me." "Fine. But after this, we get to do what I want to do. After all, you promised me anything." "That I did. What is it you want to do?" She smiles devilishly, the Doctor is instantly worried. "Take me dancing." The Doctor sighs in relief. "Oh, that's it?" "In the Milky Way, Class 5." He pales. "But that's-" "Yes." "And they-" "Yes." "And we'll-" "_Yes_." He gulps nervously. "Oh. We could dance anywhere else, you know." "I know that." "You're a dangerous woman." "I know that too." She kisses him, he tastes her laugh. "Just teach me to make this drink first, and it has to be perfect." He reminds her. "It's going to be the best soy latte you've ever had."

River pads down the halls of the Tardis sleepily. It's been hours since she and the Doctor went dancing and now he's gone and disappeared on her. She walks to the kitchen and fights a smile as she hears a crash and a swear. "Cursing isn't going to save your cooking." "River! Don't sneak up on me like that!" "I was simply walking." The Doctor grumbles something unintelligible and goes back the stove, River looks over his shoulder but he blocks her view. "Not yet, not yet. I want to surprise you." River sighs but moves away from him, she stifles a yawn as she sits down. "How long have you been at this?" "I lost track of time." "Of course you did." They chat about anything and everything, and River cherishes the moment. "All right, I'm finished. Take a look." River smiles, grabs the fork from the Doctor's hands and takes a bite. "That wasn't a look, River." "It was too perfect not to eat." "It was perfect?" "Definitely." The Doctor beams and kisses River's hand, not even caring that she's still holding the fork. He gets whipped cream on his cheek, River wipes it off with her thumb. "Why does it matter if it's perfect?" She asks, curious. The Doctor shrugs and shuffles his feet, his eyes staring at the ground. "Because, it's for you." "Me?" He nods. "You, younger you, any you." River looks back in her memories and sighs when she realizes what he's talking about. It had been a long day at Luna, she had been terribly grumpy and dying to dump all of her frustrations on someone, and he had been the only target around. "Sweetie, I'm sorry." "Don't be." "I threw a book at you." "You missed." "I never miss." "Well, you only nicked me." She kisses his chin in apology, he bops her nose. "No harm done." "I bet your ribs say otherwise." "Impossible woman, do you want me to forgive you or not?" "Yes." She laughs and he kisses her on the forehead. "Good. Now, is this crepe acceptable for a younger you?" Her reply is to steal the plate and dance away with it. "No, because I'm eating it now." "Save me a bite." "Not a chance." She says, already flying down the halls. "Oi! Get back here!" "You'll have to catch me!" He grins, his eyes alight with the thrill of a hunt. "Challenge accepted."

They end up tangled together on the floor, due to the Doctor's exuberance. He had caught up to River in time and manages to snag a few bites of his perfected pastry. "Mmm...this is good. I'd say it's even as good as yours!" River hums into his chest. "Well, I did teach you the way I make them." "That's true...but how is it they taste exactly the same? How is it I took so well to your recipe and not the actual cookbook's?" River chuckles and kisses his collarbone. "Well, Sweetie, who do you think taught me?"

River wakes up to Luna's bright sun in her eyes. She groans and flops back into the pillows. Delicious scents float in the air and dance in her nose. Her eyes peek open, she sees nothing unusual. She sits up, on her desk there's a plate and a steaming mug. She pushes the sheets off of her body and stumbles to examine the mystery dishes. In the mug there's a soy latte, River's body practically sings in the presence of the heavily caffeinated beverage. She takes a sip, it's heavenly. She pays attention to the food on the plate, three strawberry crepes are perfectly placed in the middle of the dish, with just the right amount of whipped cream placed on top. She forgoes the fork and eats the whipped cream with her fingers, she licks the sticky remnants off slowly. There's a knock on her door and she jumps. She swings open the door to see the Doctor leaning against the frame. "Good morning!" He chirps, he slips off the door frame and almost lands on his face. River laughs with her mouth closed, still chewing her breakfast. She swallows. "Doctor, I'm sorry about last night-" "Don't worry about it, it's forgiven and forgotten." "Really?" She asks incredulously. "Really." She looks perplexed but dismisses the conversation with a slight shake of her head, her golden curls swish. "Did you make this?" She asks, changing the subject. The Doctor nods as he brushes off his tweed. "How do you like it?" "It's perfect." She says as she takes another bite. The Doctor smiles and tugs at his lapels with pride. "I had a great teacher." "I wish I could cook like this." River says, sighing wistfully, her finished food already a distant memory. "I could teach you." The Doctor offers. "Will you?" She asks eagerly. The Doctor bops her nose and grabs her hand. "I would love to. Come along, Song, we've got some cooking to do."


	17. Tests And The Twenties

"Doctor, where are we going?" Amy asks as she leans against the slightly shaking console of the Tardis. "Luna University! River and Pond reunion time!" "Don't you usually visit her when we're asleep?" Rory asks. "Not that I'm complaining." He adds hurriedly. "Last time I visited her at Luna, she threw a book at me. Well, second to last time. Actually, the last time I visited her at Luna, I taught her to make crepes. I had promised her I'd help her with her research paper but we never got around to it." The Doctor says, his ears turn the slightest shade of red. Amy notices it and grins devilishly. "And why's that?" She asks teasingly, the Doctor's neck reddens as well. He coughs. "Oh, you know." He says nonchalantly, his nervous hands giving him away. "We were making crepes, I was teaching her to cook!" "Oh, I _bet _you were." Amy says, Rory glowers. "Let's go get her!" The Doctor says quickly, toggling switches and smacking buttons frantically. "Onwards and upwards!" "You're quoting Willy Wonka." Amy comments, amused as she holds onto the Tardis' rails tightly. "Yes, I am. Hold on!" The Tardis lands with a solid thud. "Why won't you use the stabilizers?" Rory groans from the floor. "Because-because they're blue boringers, that's why!" The Doctor walks to the door, mumbling under his breath, "I do not fly with those boringers. That mad woman is not winning." "We can hear you, Raggedy Man." Amy calls as she and Rory follow after the Doctor. "And you be nice to our daughter." "She's the one who threw a book at me! And she was none too gentle either!" Amy smirks. "That's my girl." The Doctor scowls. "Are you going to keep picking on me, or can we go get River?" Rory laughs, laces his hand with Amy's, and claps the Doctor on the shoulder. "Lead the way."

"River, put down the gun." "I have just spent the last five hours hunched over a positively vapid textbook about the 20's. If I don't shoot something, I might explode." "But there's no need for guns." "I think _that _says otherwise." "Oi! What's wrong with it?" The Doctor looks up at what River's aiming at. "It has to go." "Ok, fine. I suppose it might have been a bad idea, but shooting it is not the best plan either." River shoots it. The hat sitting upon the Doctor's head explodes. "Woman, you leave my hats alone!" "Not a chance." "What's wrong with tricorns anyway?" The Doctor asks sulkily, River smiles as she winds his arms around her waist. "Do I really need to explain?" The Doctor leans into her, his fringe brushing her forehead as he says, "You might." River angles her mouth mere centimeters from his, she smiles. "Tricorns," she whispers. "Are ugly." "Oi!" Comes a Scottish voice from behind the flirting couple. "I'll have you know, I look _fantastic _in a tricorn!" "Amy!" River cries excitedly. She extricates herself from the Doctor's embrace and launches herself into the redhead's arms. "It's mum, little missy. When are we for you?" "I haven't seen you for a very long while, not since...not since the incident." River says, her eyes drinking in the sight of her parents. She pulls away from Amy to hug a smiling Rory. "Which incident?" He asks, curious. River smirks at the Doctor, he pales at the gleam in her eyes. "_Well_, it involved a certain Time Lord and a pair of handcuffs-" "Stop!" Rory says, his hands clap over his ears in horror. "Don't say another word." He warns her, Amy scrunches her face in disgust. "I remember that. Let's not talk about it." "Yes! We have places to go, tests to study for!" The Doctor reminds them, clapping his hands together for emphasis. "We can reminisce about other things in the Tardis." He turns around, then he turns back to River. "Where do we need to go?" "Chicago, the 20's." She says. He spins around, spins back again. "Which 20's?" He asks. "2220." River says, a grin alight on her lips. The Doctor groans. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Welcome to Chicago, 2222." The Doctor says as he leans out of the blue box. The city lights glow against the night sky. It's not at all quiet, but the city seems to be sleeping. He sticks out his tongue. "Something tastes funny." He says, he makes a face. "I don't care if it tastes like banana daiquiris, I came for information and I'm going to get it." River says as she moves around the Doctor. "I don't know if this is how Chicago always looks," Amy states, "but it doesn't look very advanced." "What were you expecting?" Rory asks as he gazes up at the dark, metal skyscrapers. Amy doesn't dignify his question with an answer. "So River, what are you looking for?" Amy asks as she loops her arm through River's. "I'm doing a research paper on the Hamburg Incident, which my professor says is only rumor and gossip." "Archeology at its finest." The Doctor teases. River punches him in the shoulder. "Ow." "So, you're researching something that might not have happened, just to spite your professor?" Rory asks, River rolls her eyes. "Of _course _not. Actually...yes. I am." "What if there is no incident?" Amy asks, she hurries after her adventure-seeking daughter. River laughs. "Well then I'll make one."

"River." The Doctor admonishes. "You can't just change the past, it also changes the future. You can't tamper with the future to suit yourself." "Why not? You've done it loads of times." "That's-that's different!" The Doctor splutters. "Because you didn't write a paper on it?" River asks, her amused smile and laughing eyes almost make him forget everything he was going to say. "No! I've written loads of pape-River! That's not the point! I never change things on purpose." "And yet history has changed, time and time again for you." "Not on purpose!" He repeats. "Things just-just seem to happen!" River laughs and reaches up to fix his bow tie. Her fingers brush against his throat, the lightest of touches, and yet it still makes the Doctor weak in the knees. "Sweetie, just our appearance has already changed the course of history, looking around isn't going to make that much of a difference." "It's what we find that worries me." He grumbles. River pecks him lightly on the lips. "Lighten up, Sweetie." "You'll have to make me." He says flirtatiously. River kisses him, her hands snaking up his neck to play with his hair. "Oi! We leave for less than five minutes, and you two are already going at it!" Rory cries from behind. Amy laughs, the Doctor blushes, and River smiles. "Anyway," Rory says huffily, "I thought you'd want to know that there's been a couple of disappearances lately, all around the same warehouse. Get this, the warehouse's name is Hamburg." "Ooh, how exciting." River says, she pulls away from the Doctor. "Let's go have us an adventure."

It's dimly lit in the halls, there's a crashing sound. "Raggedy man!" "Sorry, tripped." "Shhh, this place is probably crawling with security guards." "Not anymore." Someone turns on the lights. The Doctor is awkwardly sprawled over a crate, Amy is holding onto Rory's arm, and River is hovering over the light switch. "What do you mean, 'not anymore'?" The Doctor asks as he picks himself up. He studies River for a moment, her ruby red lips glisten in the fluorescent lighting. "You didn't." "I did." He groans. "River, you can't just drug people." "I can, and I did. Would you rather us be caught?" "No." He says begrudgingly. She nods in triumph and begins to open the crate the Doctor had tripped over. "I had been wondering where you had sneaked off to." He says as he pulls out his sonic screwdriver. River gives him a look but returns her gaze to the contents of the box. "Wine." She says, disappointed. The Doctor picks up the bottle and scans it. "Not just wine." He murmurs thoughtfully. He throws the bottle to the ground. Amy jumps at the smashing sound. The Doctor kneels down and searches through the shattered glass and splattered liquid. He crows as he picks up a tiny piece of metal. "Look at this little beauty." He holds it up for examination. "What are you? You're not a bomb, you're not a transmitter, what do you do?" A siren goes off, the alarm blares throughout the entire building. "You said you got rid of security." The Doctor hisses. "If finding and kissing every guard was so easy, I'd make you do it!" "Oi!" Amy cries. "You two, stop bickering and run!"

They're back in the Tardis, Amy and Rory are lounging on the couch. The Doctor and River are sitting on the floor, inspecting the metal piece. The Doctor waves his sonic over the tiny ball again, River picks it up and rolls it around in her palm. "I can't figure it out." The Doctor says finally, frustrated. River bites her lip in concentration, a puzzled look adorns her face. The Doctor stares, the mystery forgotten, completely entranced. Amy nudges him with her foot, he starts, jumps up, and starts pacing. River stands up as well and walks to the door. "Where are you going?" The Doctor calls after her. "Meet me at the warehouse in a few minutes." "The warehouse we just ran away from?" He asks disbelievingly. "That'd be the one." "Why?" She doesn't respond. "Your daughter is impossibly maddening." The Doctor grumbles. "Be nice to our daughter and your..wife." Rory says, whispering the last part. "She's not my wife yet, not for her anyways." The Doctor whispers back. "Now, shhh! No spoilers." After a while, Amy checks her watch and stands up, pulling Rory with her. "Come on boys, let's go see what River's up to."

"River." "Hello Sweetie." The Doctor smiles at her familiar term of endearment. It hasn't become her favorite greeting yet, her current favorite is snogging the living daylights out of him, but it's slipping off of her tongue with ever-increasing ease. "What-what are you wearing?" "Clothes." The Doctor rakes her form with his eyes. She's wearing a black cat suit, so tight it's practically liquid on her body. "I think the tail is hardly appropriate for this situation, River." "Perhaps, but it's a whole lot more fun. In which situation would you prefer me wearing it?" She asks, her voice sultry and teasing. "Don't answer that." Rory says as he walks through the door. "What are we doing here? Again?" Amy asks. "I thought it odd that there was a metal ball in a bottle of wine, perhaps it was just a fluke," River explains, she reaches into a pouch on the side of her belt. "But I opened a few more bottles and found the same metal pieces in each one." She holds open her hand, more than fifteen identical balls are nestled in her gloved hands. "What do they do?" The Doctor asks excitedly as he picks one up. "They're poisoned." He drops it. "How do you know?" "I saw it on their computer." "And just how did you find their computer?" Rory asks. "I came across it as I was looking for extra security." "Ah, so the alarms wouldn't go off this time." The Doctor muses. "That, and those guards were very cute." He huffs at that, Amy laughs. "Why would someone poison the wine?" Rory asks. "I don't know," River says, her eyes gleaming with determination. "But I intend to find out."

They make their way through the halls quickly, dodging the occasional guard staring vacantly into space. The Doctor counts them as they pass the dazed, euphoric people. 1, 5, 8... "All right, this is getting ridiculous!" He bursts out after they walk past the eleventh lucky, lipstick-stained person smiles innocently at them. "You can't just _kiss _people helter-skelter, you don't know where they've been!" "Are you jealous?" River asks, a hidden smile quirking the corner of her lips. "No! I'm not- why would I be jealous?" "I don't know, you have no reason to be. After all," she snorts, "it's not like we're married." Rory coughs, Amy smacks him in the ribs with the back of her hand. River turns back and looks at her father inquisitively. "Something you'd like to say?" "Uh, which door are we taking?" He asks, River's curiosity isn't sated, but she is momentarily distracted. "Nice recovery, Stupid Face." Amy whispers sarcastically to Rory. He opens his mouth to respond in kind, but River gestures to the door to their left. "The computer's in there." She says, the Doctor opens the door. There's a mainframe computer in the back of the room, a muscled soldier guarding it. The Doctor whips out his sonic in protection. He notices the sheen of red lipstick on the man's lips and sheepishly lowers his arms. "All clear." He says lamely. Amy eyes the man appreciatively and bumps River's hip with her own. "He's a cute one." The Doctor ignores that. "And a really good kisser." River remarks. "_Ok! _Let's figure this out, shall we?" He interrupts rather loudly. He scans the computer, hits a button, and presses keys in a flurry. "Ohhh...that's clever. But not possible." "What is it?" Amy asks. "The metal-like balls are actually berries from a common metallic plant local to the planet Metallon. They aren't poisonous to the inhabitants, eaten with sugar and oil, but they're deadly to humans. But how did they get stuck in wine bottles?" "Because I put them there." A sinister voice answers.

A figure emerges from the shadows. It's a male, inhumanly thin creature. His skin is the color of mulberries and his black, beady eyes gleam with menace. In his hands, he holds a large energy cannon. He waves it around, gesturing for everyone to put their hands up, they do so reluctantly. "Welcome." He says pleasantly, his countenance cool and relaxed. "What can I do for you?" "Why are you doing this? The earth has no quarrel with Metallon." "No, but it has quarrel with itself. The earth was always going to tear itself apart, I'm just backing the winning side." "How do you know your side is going to win?" Rory asks, his hands moving a bit. The alien points his cannon directly at Rory, the Doctor quietly reaches into his breast pocket. "Because I'm backing it." The alien smiles viciously, his teeth are sharp and pointed. "You, sir," The Doctor says, he whips out his sonic. "are very wrong." His sonic whirs, the alien's cannon electrocutes himself. "He won't be unconscious for long, everybody run!" River delays for a moment and places a small, black thing on the computer. The Doctor grabs her hand and pulls her along. "What were you doing?" He yells at her while they run through the halls, Amy and Rory are ahead of them, the guards are nowhere to be seen. "What's necessary." An explosion erupts in the computer room, fire shoots out of the open door. "That wasn't necessary, what if it hurt someone?" "We can talk about ethics when we get out of this." She says. Several other explosions go off, the building shakes. "So, kissing unsuspecting people wasn't enough?" The Doctor grouses, they run faster as the building starts to collapse, there's no time to talk.

The exits looms ever closer, the fire licks the walls around them, the heat is searing and the smoke is blinding. The Doctor's eyes tear, the exit sign is barely visible. River's hand slips out of his. "River? River!" He calls, his voice chokes. He coughs and tries again. "River!" "On your left." Her voice says hoarsely. The Doctor's hand fumbles around in the smoke for hers, he finds it again and holds on tightly. He pulls her along, one grueling step after another, willing them both to go on. After what seems an eternity, they finally reach the exit, they gulp in the fresh air. Amy and Rory are gasping for breath on the ground in front of them, River sits down next to her parents. "Melody," Rory says, his 'serious, father face' on, "just-" he coughs, "just warn us next time you're planning on blowing something up." "Yes, pop." She says seriously. Rory's lip twitches, Amy tries valiantly not to giggle, the Doctor stares at all of them in bemusement. River laughs. It's full of happiness at being alive and more infectious than anything. She laughs softly at first, it builds till she's nearly hysterical. The Doctor starts to laugh as well, Amy giggles and Rory looks at them as though they're all crazy. Amy pokes him in the ribs and he finally joins in. They're all covered in ash, part of Amy's shirt is still smoldering, and Rory's shoe is burnt off. River's face is covered with soot, her hair is falling out of her tight bun, and the Doctor relishes the sight of her. He leans over to kiss her, he's interrupted by a rocket ship flying out of the burning wreckage. "He got away." Rory states disbelievingly. The Doctor kisses River, she tastes of smoke and danger, his fiery goddess. He laughs as he pulls away. His thumb brushes against River's lip and he smiles as he says, "Yes. He got away."

River kisses him again. He hums from the back of his throat, she's intoxicating. "You are so getting an A." He sighs into her mouth. She pulls away slightly and grins sheepishly. "Actually, I think I'll write about Hitler instead." "What?" The Doctor cries incredulously. "My professor will never believe this, there weren't any witnesses except us, and he doesn't believe time travel is possible, much less that I myself am a time traveler." "I should have a talk this _professor _of yours." The Doctor huffs. River kisses his chin consolingly. "Think of it this way, at least we'll have another adventure." She drawls the last part and the Doctor works to control his blush. "Woman, you'll be the death of me." He mutters, she smiles smugly. "Already have been." He growls playfully, dips her, and kisses her quite thoroughly. "Oi, that's enough." Rory says. The Doctor remembers they're not alone and throws an arm around Amy. "What a night!" He says contentedly, his other arm squeezes River tighter to him. "This was fun." "We almost died." Amy reminds him dryly. "But we didn't. Chicago's a lovely place, we should come here more often." "We can start more rumors for gossip." River teases. "Yeah, let's send archeologists soaring!" "Tomorrow." Amy says firmly. The Doctor sighs, shares a secret smile with River, and promises no adventures for Amy till tomorrow. She rolls her eyes but can't fight the smile blooming across her face. The four of them walk to the Tardis. They're tired, battered and bruised, but happy. They disappear into the night, the city sleeps on.


	18. Just You And Me

Just You And Me

It's early on a Saturday morning, and eight-year old John Frey-Smith does not feel like getting up. "Mum," he whines for the second time. "Why can't I stay home?" Gale Frey huffs a long, drawn-out sigh. "Because, your babysitter's baby is almost due and I can't find anyone else to watch you on such short notice." "Amy's going to have a baby?" John asks, surprised. "Of course, did you not notice her stomach growing?" She asks, amused. "Yeah, but I dunno," he shrugs. "I just thought she'd swallowed a planet." Gale turns her eyes heavenward and tries her best not to laugh. "Nevertheless, you can't stay here with no one to watch you." "I can watch myself." He says insistently. "No, John." "Why not?" "You're eight." He crosses his arms and pouts. "Cheer up, Sweetie, you might make some new friends, the kids I work with are very nice and friendly." "Where do you work again?" "Mrs. Tardis' Home For Children." John makes a face. "Mrs. Tardis has a funny last name." "It is rather out of the ordinary." Gale admits. John's eyes narrow as he mulls over his options, to Gale's relief, he brightens and smiles. "Ok, but can I bring a game to play with?" He asks. "Of course, Sweetie." He whoops and races up the stairs, shouting he'll be back in just a minute. Gale shakes her head, knowing his 'minute' is more like thirty. She climbs the stairs and hopes the day goes well.

They arrive at the children's home and John spins around in the hallway of the house. It's a whole lot bigger inside than what the outside projects. "Hello Gale, I have some papers I need you to help me find and sort." A woman's voice calls. John stares up at the lady, she has unruly brown hair and a kind smile. Her dress swishes and it's not anything like what John's seen his mother wear. The woman crouches down to John's height and holds out her hand. "And who's this cutie? Hello, I'm Mrs. Tardis, but you can call me Idris." John shakes her hand and smiles shyly. "Hi Ms. Idris." "And so polite! I like you." She winks and he blushes. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "I want to be a doctor in history. I'm going to get a PhD." He says, his little chest puffed out in pride that he knew what a PhD was, she smiles. "My husband was a doctor, in many different areas, but never medically. Rather ironic, isn't it?" She opens her mouth to say more but Gale, knowing Idris's tendency to talk for long periods of time and John's curiosity for new words, interrupts. "You said you had some papers you needed help finding?" Idris nods and stands up. "Oh, yes. But first you can show John which room he can help out in." He shuffles his feet nervously and tugs on Gale's jeans. "What does she mean?" Gale takes his hand and gently pulls him along with her. "She's just teasing, she means the room you'll be playing in." He nods solemnly and walks down the hallways with her. She stops at a blue painted door, she kisses John's head, opens the door, and smiles down reassuringly at him. "I'll come back to bring you lunch, go have fun." She pushes him gently on the back, she waves goodbye to him. He waves back as she closes the door, he turns to the room and promptly trips over someone.

"Hey! Watch it!" A little, slightly lisp-y voice shrieks. "Oops." John says sheepishly, he sits up. "Still sitting on me!" The voice cries. He quickly rolls over onto his stomach, on his left, a little girl is lying on her stomach and glaring at him fiercely. He's awestruck. Despite the heavy scowl scrunching her features, the little girl is the epitome of adorable. Her golden hair has perfect, corkscrew curls and her eyes are the most interesting shade of green he's ever seen. "Well," she demands. "Are you going to keep staring at me like an idiot, or are you going to apologize?" "Idiot isn't a nice word." His mouth says automatically, he cringes, she just smiles mischievously. "Maybe I'm not nice. Maybe I'm a bad, bad girl." He stares at her like she's crazy and she laughs. She stands up and towers over him, her hands fisted on her hips. "So, who are you?" He rolls over onto his back and stares up at her in confusion. "What?" She rolls her eyes. "I wanna know who you are." She says slowly, as if he's a simpleton. He scowls. "I thought you wanted an apology." She shrugs. "I'd like to know who's apologizing." "I'm John." "And?" He doesn't answer her, she prods him with her toe. "_And_?" She says again. "I'd like to know who I'm apologizing to." She humphs and crosses her arms. "Say you're sorry first." "Not until you tell me who __you__are." "We'll say it on three." The little girl offers, he nods, they say together, "One, two, three!" "Sorry!" He blurts out, she says nothing. "Hey!" He cries, feeling betrayed. "Hi. Bye!" She waves her hand and runs away. He huffs and picks himself up from the ground. He looks around the room, it's large and open, some toys litter the ground. On the floor where the little girl had been, there's a blue book. John picks it up and scans the room for the girl. She's sitting by the window, a red haired girl sitting next to her. He walks up to her, she's in an animated conversation with the redhead and ignoring him. "Ahem." He coughs politely, trying to get her attention, he doesn't get it. "Excuse me." He tries again, no response. "Oi!" He shouts, both the girls turn to him with a huff. "Rude." The redhead girl says. "You dropped this." He says, he thrusts the book into the blonde's hands, she cradles it and glares at him. "You didn't read it, did you?" She asks accusingly. "No I didn't!" He cries indignantly. "Whatever." She says flippantly. The redhead stares at John appraisingly, she holds her hand out to shake his. "I'm Donna, and you are?" "That's John." The blonde says, as if she's already bored. "Hi John. You must be new here." "I'm not here to stay! My mummy works here." He clarifies, Donna looks interested. "Who's your mum?" "Gale Frey." "Your mum is Gale?" The blonde asks, her eyes wide. "It's __Miss__Gale to you." He says, still miffed. She rolls her eyes, but Donna smiles and stands up. "Well, it's nice to meet you, John. Want to play with me?" John nods happily, Donna looks at the blonde. "You in?" "Nope." With that, the little blonde opens her book and starts writing. Donna shakes her head. "Oh well, come on John." He follows after her, he spares a glance back at the mystery girl. She's writing furiously in her book, he doesn't look at her again.

John eats lunch with his mum and Idris. He talks enthusiastically about his morning, Idris chuckles when he talks about the little blonde girl. "That's River for you, she's a little firecracker, but sweet once you get to know her." John makes a face, he can't believe that little girl could be anything other than ornery. "Her name is River? Is that even a name?" He asks, half in curiosity, half in disdain. "Of course it's a name, it's River's name." Gale laughs, John frowns. "She's not very nice." Gale stops smiling, she gently lays her hand on his shoulder. "She hasn't had a very nice life, she's been tossed around a lot of foster homes, none of them have worked out." John's eyes widen. "Do you think that's why she's so...cranky?" He asks, Idris smiles lightly. "Probably. I think she needs a friend. Do you think, maybe you could be that friend?" "She has Donna." He protests. Gale shakes her head. "Donna is in the process of getting adopted, she'll be leaving soon." John's shoulders straighten in acceptance. "Fine. I'll be her friend. But I've seen her crazy ideas of jumping off the bed, that girl is __not__dragging me into anything like that!" He hops off of the chair he had been sitting on and trots out the door, Idris laughs and shares a knowing look with Gale. "And he is __so__wrong."

He sees River sitting by a shelf of books, he steels himself and walks up to her. "Hi River." She frowns up at him. "How'd you find out my name?" "I just know these things." He says smugly, she scoffs. "Nuhuh, you just talked to Gale." "Miss Gale." He corrects, she rolls her eyes. "Fine. Now what do you want?" He sighs, being her friend isn't going to be easy. "Would you like to play checkers with me?" To his surprise, her eyes light up and she almost smiles. "Ok." "Really?" Her almost smile disappears. "Yes. I said ok, didn't I?" "I just didn't think you'd actually say yes." John says in disbelief, she glares at him. "So you __don't__want me to play with you?" "No!" "No?" "No! I mean yes! Yes, I'd like you to play with me!" She eyes him suspiciously, she huffs and crosses her arms. "Fine. But I'm playing with the black pieces." "But I always use the black pieces." "Well, now you're not." "Bossy." He mutters, she hears him. "Do you want me to play or not?" "Yes." "Then black it is." "Why do you want to play with the black pieces so badly?" "Because, black is dangerous." Her eyes flash. "I like danger." She grabs the box of checkers from his hands and sets the board on the ground a few feet away from him. "I can tell." He mutters under his breath, this time she doesn't hear it. "Well," she says from her spot on the floor. "You playing or not?"

"You totally cheated!" John cries. "Did not." "Did too!" River sticks her tongue out at him. "So...wanna play again?" He offers, she smiles. "Ok." He smiles back at her, once they started playing, she had been nicer to him, he likes it. "How old are you?" He asks as he resets the board. "Seven." "I'm eight." He says proudly. "I'm older than you." "Only by a year. That's barely anything." "But it __is__something." She huffs. "You're smaller than me." She points out. "I'm taller!" He cries, insulted. "But tinier." She says, shrugging. He realizes she's not trying to be mean. "What's your last name?" "Song." "That's pretty." "I guess. Yours is Frey?" "Frey-Smith." He says. "How come you have two last names?" "My parents divorced." River nods sympathetically. They're silent for a little while, each focusing on the next move. "What's your favorite snack?" River asks. "Jammie Dodgers." He says with a smile, she grins. "There's a pack of those in the cupboard, want some?" "Isn't that stealing?" "Not really. Think of it as early snacking." "It's stealing. Stealing is bad." River's grin only widens. "Even better."

"Gimme a boost!" "You're heavy." "Am not!" "Are too!" "For being taller and older, you sure are weak." "Am not!" "Then quit complaining!" With a huff and a shove, John finally boosts River up onto the tall counter. She stands up and opens the cupboard. "Hurry up." John urges. "There's so much stuff in here. If it was easy, I'd make __you__do it!" Her voice is muffled, but her sass is clear. John hops up and down on his toes anxiously, he keeps a sharp lookout for adults. "Got it! Now help me down." River closes the cupboard door and John helps her scamper down. They walk quickly to the kitchen door. "And just where do you think you're going?" A voice says behind them. They cringe and turn around, it's Idris. "Hi Miss Idris." John says nervously. "River and I-we were just-" "You were just pilfering the Jammie Dodgers." She states. "What does pilfering mean?" River asks curiously. "Stealing." "Told you stealing was bad!" John hisses, River shrugs. "I never said it wasn't." She turns to Idris and smiles endearingly, her eyelashes flutter, her cuteness radiates in waves. "John and I were just __so__hungry, and we didn't want to bother you." She says sweetly, Idris smiles wryly. "And I suppose the risk of snapping your neck if you had fallen was worth not bothering me?" "Yes?" John says meekly. Idris laughs in exasperated fondness. "You may have one, but that's it. Now go do something less dangerous." "Thank you." River and John says together, their eyes aglow for the sugary treat. They both grab a biscuit and scamper off. Gale comes in the opposite door and stares at the disappearing children in disbelief. "Was that-" "Yes, it was." "But I thought-" "Indeed." Gale rolls her eyes at the interruptions, but smiles. "So, they're friends now?" Idris smiles and holds up the bag of Jammie Dodgers. "It appears they are as thick as thieves."

And they were. By the end of the day they were so inseparable it was as if they had known each other all their lives. John would come with Gale to the home after school, River would be there waiting, a smirk on her lips and a crazy idea already buzzing in that curly head of hers. John would often protest to these schemes, but go along with them anyway. Sometimes, on the weekend, River would be allowed to come to the Frey's house, John took great pride in showing her his home. Spring was just around the corner, and the two friends were anxious to play in the great outdoors, Gale stocked up band aids for the various scrapes to come and hoped the young explorers wouldn't get into too much trouble. It was too much to hope for.

"River, I don't think this is a good idea." "Exactly." John stares at her like she's crazy and then stares up at the tree she wants to climb. "It's too high up, you could fall." "I won't fall." She says confidently. "__I __could fall." "Then don't come with me." He huffs, she climbs the limbs of the tree, he sighs and follows up after her. "This isn't safe." He warns. "I know, it's __dangerous__." River says, her tone filled with excitement. "Why do you like danger so much?" John asks, he frowns as some flecks of the tree falls in his eyes. "Because danger is fun!" "No, danger is bad." "Well then it's perfect for me!" He scowls up at her feet, the only part of her he can see. "I don't think you even know what bad is, sometimes." He tells her, she ignores him and pulls herself onto another branch. She sits down and waits for him. Huffing and puffing, he sits on the branch closest to her, his face red with exertion and his chest heaving for breath. "If I fall and die, I'm blaming you." He gasps, she giggles. She stares at the world in her new vantage point, she smiles victoriously. "Look, John." She breathes. "Look how much you can see." "I'll look when we're back on the ground." He grumbles, she tugs on his hand and he grudgingly looks around. "Wow, we're so tall. Things look so far away." He says, no longer nervous about falling. "This must be how gods feel." River says. "Do you want be a goddess?" John asks teasingly, River shakes her head. "Nah, it'd be too lonely." They hear Idris calling for them, they start the long climb down. "Hurry up." She whines, already on the ground. "Easy for you to say, you jumped down before you were even close to the ground. You could have hurt yourself." "But I didn't." John sighs in exasperation when he's back on solid ground. "You're crazy." He states, she giggles. "So?" He laughs at that. "Race you back?" River asks, bouncing on her toes slightly in anticipation. "You're on." "Ok, on three. One, two, thre-" She starts running mid word, John chases after her. "River! No fair!"

"John, why are you sitting in a box?" "It's not a box, it's my space ship!" "It looks like a box." "It won't when we finish coloring it." He hands River a blue marker, she sits beside him and starts coloring the cardboard with him. "Is this what you wanna be when you grow up? An astronaut?" River asks, her tongue pokes out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. "I want to be a history teacher, people would call me Doctor, 'cause I would have a PhD." He says with pride. "What's a PhD?" River asks, scribbling fiercely all over the box. "You work for it when you're super old, like when you're in college!" River nods absentmindedly, not really understanding his explanation. "What do you want to be?" John asks. "I want to be a writer." "What do you want to write?" "A story about someone's adventures, she works with old stuff, like the pyramids and mummies." "That's called an arch-e-o-lo-gist, or something like that." John says, River nods happily. "She's going to be so cool! Discovering old things and solving mysteries and kicking butt!" "Is that what you write about in your journal?" "It's a diary." She corrects. "Do you write stories in your diary?" "Maybe." She says nothing more, they work together in silence. "There. It's done." John says, River smiles proudly. "It looks pretty good. What are we going to call it?" John thinks about it for a moment, he grins. "I've got it, let's call it the Tardis, after Miss Idris!" "Perfect." She agrees. She climbs in the back of the box and looks up at John expectantly. "Come on space doctor," she teases lightly. "Show me the stars."

John doesn't visit River for the weekend, his mum is helping his babysitter out, Amy's baby isn't feeling well, and he has to come along. When he goes back the home, River has made a new friend. "John!" She squeals and runs to hug him, a boy follows after her. "Where have you been?" She asks, she punches him in the shoulder lightly, John opens his mouth to protest but she keeps talking. "You've missed __loads__of things! This is Jack." She flaps her hand in Jack's direction, he waves, and she continues. "Jack Harkness. He has a cool last name too, just like us! He's seven and a half, so he's right in between you and me! I don't see why __I __always have to be the youngest." She pouts, John tries to comfort her, but Jack beats him to it. "Don't worry, River, you're still the coolest." She giggles and socks Jack in the shoulder, he doesn't even grimace, he just laughs along. John doesn't like that. River spends the day creating games at whirlwind pace with the boys in tow, and John grudgingly admits to himself that Jack is pretty cool. Something itches whenever Jack makes River smile, John can't figure out what it is. River laughs at a joke Jack made, John realizes what is bothering him so much. He's being replaced.

John leaves Jack and River at their game, something about fighting aliens, and reads a history book about Winston Churchill. Every once in a while he'll glance at River, her hands are clasped together like a gun, she pretends to shoot Jack, he groans melodramatically and collapses to the ground, John rolls his eyes and returns to his book. Time passes and he becomes engrossed in Churchill's life, when suddenly River pounces on him from behind. "Gotcha!" She cries, her arms around his neck. "Get off." He mumbles, he tugs her hands apart and she falls to the ground in front of him. She smiles and bats at the fringe of his hair. "Quit it, you're not a cat." He gripes. "Meow." She giggles, he huffs. "Are you mad at me?" She asks, her eyes peek up at him through her lashes, he sighs. "No." "Then why are you so grumpy?" He shuts his book and lays it to the side. "You're replacing me." He confesses, River looks confused. "No I'm not." "Yes you are! You're playing all the games you used to play with me with Jack! He's the one making you laugh, not me. He's your friend now." He blurts, looking more and more upset as he thinks about it. River sits up and hugs John, her little arms nearly strangle him in their tightness. "You dummy." She says with a sigh, which softens the somewhat harsh word. "Jack is my friend." "I knew it!" John cries, his little heart close to shattering. "But __you're__my __best__friend." She finishes, the time bomb on John's heart stops, he sighs in relief. "Oh." He says sheepishly, River smiles. "Yeah, oh." She stands up and hauls John up with her. "There. Now that that's all settled, come play with me! Let's play checkers." "Have you already played that with Jack?" John asks, he tries and fails at keeping the jealousy from his voice. River shakes her head with a smile and grabs his hand. "Nope. That's __our__game, just for me and you." "And everyone who's played it before." He adds, she gives him a look. "Just for me and you." He says, she grins. "Good, now come on, let's play!"

Amy's baby passes away, little Melody Williams. John had only seen the little one once, but he had known how happy she had made Amy, he can't imagine how devastated she must be now. The Williams family are hosting a get-together in her honor, John had pleaded and begged for River to come until Gale had finally relented and said yes.

It's the night of the get-together, and John can't help pulling at his little bow tie. "You're going to choke yourself." River says, she's sitting next to him on the Williams' couch. "I can't help it, it itches! But it does look cool." He says, he pushes his head back and tries to examine his blue bow tie. "Hmm..." "It does!" "Whatever you say." "Well, what about you? I don't think I've ever seen you dressed like that." John says, River scowls at her outfit. She's wearing a deep green dress and her hair is pulled up in a bun, she looks, for once, neat. "I didn't __want__to wear this! I was forced to!" "Well, I think you look rather nice." John says, and she does. The dress brings out the color in her eyes, and if John didn't know any better, he'd say she looks angelic. Her scowl makes it a little harder to believe. "Hmph." She grumbles. "Grouchy." He teases, she ignore him. Amy and her husband, Rory, walk up to the friends, John and River sit up straighter. "Hi John." Rory says. "Hi Rory, this is River." John says, gesturing to his blonde friend. River looks up at the adults shyly, it's the first time John's ever seen her like this. "Hello River, that's a pretty name." Amy says, she sounds tired and sad, but kind. "Hi." River says quietly, she leans into John's shoulder. "You have such lovely hair." Amy says coaxingly, River relaxes a little. "Thanks. It's all mine." Amy laughs, she seems surprised to find herself laughing at all. "Well that's good." "How old are you?" Rory asks River. "I'm seven, a year younger than John, but way tougher." She says, her confidence returning, Rory chuckles. They talk for a little while longer, Amy seems enchanted by River, River watches Amy with awe. "We need to say hi to the other guests, it was nice to meet you River. Bye John." Rory says, his hand gently pulling on Amy's. "You two be good for your mothers." Amy says. "I don't have one." River says with a touch of defensiveness. Amy's eyes fill with a film of water, she crouches down and hugs River. Surprised, River hugs her back. "Then you be a good girl for me, can you do that?" Amy asks as she pulls away, her eyes are slightly red and she looks a little embarrassed for hugging River so suddenly. Stunned, River just nods. Amy stands up and winks, River giggles. Rory and Amy walk away, John notices River has a starry, wistful look in her eyes. "You ok?" He asks, a little concerned. She smiles, but she seems a bit distracted. "I'm just fine."

John and River are getting tired, they decide to find Gale. John weaves his way through the maze of older people, his hand firmly wrapped around River's, he sighs in relief when he sees his mother. She's talking to Amy as they walk closer, John stops River from walking up to them and they listen to the conversation. "I don't know, Gale." Amy says, she bits her lip thoughtfully. "It's so soon." "You just spent the last twenty minutes gushing about her, just think about it." River tightens her hold on John's hand, he winces and looks at his friend, her eyes are as wide as saucers. He focuses back onto the conversation in front of him. "I don't think so." Amy is saying, she shakes her head. "I just lost my Melody, my baby. I'm not sure I could have another kid if I can't have her." John looks down at River, her face is blank, her hand is slack in his. He pulls her to the still talking women. "Hey mummy, can we go home? We're tired." Gale checks her watch and gasps. "Of course, Sweetie. I'm sorry, I lost track of time." Amy touches her hand on Gale's shoulder lightly and walks away, she gives River a small wave, River doesn't wave back.

They're in John's room, in the giant fort they had made earlier that day. John is finally out of that tight (but very cool) bow tie, River's hair is out of its bun and flying everywhere. They're lying in a nest of pillows, staring up at the blanketed sky. The fort is silent except for the sound of their breathing, John wonders if River's asleep. She's not. "Did you know Jack is getting adopted?" She asks, her voice is quiet and lacking its usual spirit, John frowns. "No, I didn't." The pillow covers rustle as she nods. "Some rich, company-owning couple are adopting him. They have the fancy last name of Torchwood. Silly last name, isn't it?" "Silly." John murmurs. He turns his head to stare at her, she's still studying the star print on the blanket above them. "I know why nobody wants me." She whispers, John says nothing. "It's 'cause I'm bad. Nobody wants that." "You're __not__bad." John says firmly. River finally turns to him, her young eyes are the saddest things he's ever seen. No matter how hard she rubs her eyes with her sleeve, tears dance across her lashes and paint wet trails down her red-stained cheeks. "Then why am I the only one who doesn't have a family? I'm nobody's." She turns her head away, John grabs her hand and holds on to it tightly. "You're mine." She looks back at him, mystified. "I can be your family." "You can?" She sniffles, he pulls her into a hug. "I can be anything you want me to be, I'm gonna be here." She hugs him tighter. "Ok. Just don't let me go." "I won't, I promise."

Summer comes and goes, passing John and River by in what seems like only moments. Children from Mrs. Tardis's Home are adopted and as they leave, John worries. River doesn't, she just smiles and squeezes John's hand every time he frowns. Only one person had considered adopting River, a lady with the last name Kovarian, but River hadn't liked her at all. Ms. Kovarian had a hard smile and a tight handshake, River had done her best to scare the lady away, to her relief, it worked. Amy still visits the Frey's, sometimes when River is there. The first time it happened, John had freaked out, but River seemed fine, she had hugged the older woman and demanded a story. Amy had smiled, snuggled down with her and John, and wove a fantastical tale of Romans and bravery and the ever-twinkling stars.

It's the afternoon at Mrs. Tardis's and John's eyes are stinging with unshed tears, he runs outside, looking for River. He has terrible news and he doesn't know how to tell her. He'd known this information for a long time, but he had always pretended it wasn't happening and acted like it wasn't. But it is happening and time is quickly running out. She's in the tree they had claimed as their own, nicknamed "The Tower". John can't see her, but he knows she's there because he can hear her singing. He sighs heavily as he climbs the tree. A twig snaps, the singing stops and River pops her head over the branch that's blocking her from view. "Hi John, did you see me?" She asks happily. She's always so excited to see him, her best friend. He sucks in a breath and tries to act normal. "Nope." She giggles, his heart cracks. "I didn't think so. Isn't that so cool? It's like the Tower sang, all by itself!" He climbs to where she is and plops down, he's gotten stronger since the first time they had climbed a tree. "Yup." He agrees, River peers at him closely and frowns. "Are you ok? You don't look so good." "Thanks." He says sarcastically, she punches him lightly in the shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that." He rubs his shoulder and says nothing. "What are we going to do today?" "Whatever you'd like." River's eyes gleam at that. "Well then, I have a whole __list__of things I want to do, but first, I want to tell you something, something super important." John's throat closes. "What?" He croaks, he dreads that she knows his secret. "Ms. Idris says there's a couple that might adopt me! I haven't met them yet, but she said they __wanted___ me_." She whispers the last part reverently, as if it's unbelievable, John genuinely smiles. "Of course they do, who __wouldn't __want you?" He asks, as if the thought is completely ridiculous. River smiles confidently and flips her hair out of her face. "My thoughts exactly." Her bright expression dims a little, she bites her lower lip. "You aren't mad are you?" "Why would I be mad?" John asks, perplexed. "Well, I might not see you as much, but I'm not replacing you!" She clarifies quickly, she grabs his hand. "I'm not replacing you as my family." John realizes she thinks he's going to be jealous, he squeezes her hand reassuringly. "I know. That's the beauty of family, it doesn't replace people, it only grows." River smiles gratefully and lets go of his hand to start climbing down the tree. "When did you get so smart?" She teases, John's chest puffs up with pride. "It's 'cause I'm almost nine." "Pfft. Yeah right." "I am right!" River hops down to the ground from the second lowest branch. She smiles up at him. "Just think," she says, "someday soon I'll be inviting you over to__my __house, we'll have so much fun! Maybe we'll see each other even more!" She dances away, John heaves a deep sigh, his eyes well. "I wish..."

John makes his way to Ms. Idris' house, River is nowhere to be found. He sees his mother talking in hushed whispers to Ms. Idris as he walks by, he speeds his pace. He zooms through the halls, a flurry of opening and closing doors as he searches for River. He opens the double doors of the library, he sighs as he sees the tell-tale mop of unruly curls hiding behind a pile of books. River turns her head and stands as she hears the noise. Her face is pinched and red, she stomps over to John and slaps him smartly across the face. "Ow!" He cries. "You're moving tomorrow?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" She shrieks, her rising pitch and shrillness makes John wince. "I thought waiting to tell you would make things hurt less, obviously I was wrong." He says as he rubs his cheek. "Yeah you were wrong! Idiot." She paces back and forth in front of him, fuming. "River-" she glares at him, he shuts up. She stops pacing and stares at him, her bottom lip wavers. "How far away are you going?" "Pretty far. It's a few hours drive." "That's not fair, that's so far!" River wails, she throws her arms around John and he hugs her tightly. "I'm sorry, River." She sniffles and hugs him tighter. The door behind John opens, Gale pokes her head out, her eyes sadden as she sees her son and River's tight embrace. "Sweetie, it's time to go." John reluctantly tries to pull away from River, she squeezes him tighter for a second, she hiccups a sob when she finally lets him go. He stands there, staring at his best friend, she stares back with watery eyes. "Come on Sweetie." Gale says gently. He slowly turns around and walks away, a whimper escapes from River's lip. He looks back, she's hugging herself and her heart is crumbling in her eyes. He stops walking. "Just go already! Leave!" She screams, hiccups interrupt her words. John walks to Gale, she stops holding the door. It slowly closes with an unsatisfying click, John takes a deep breath, the last image of River burned into his brain and his heart. He takes a step, and then another. A tear slips, two. And with every step and every drop, he thinks of River left alone in the library. Slowly, ever so slowly, he does something he had promised he never ever would, he lets her go.

Time slows to a crawl, slower than that. John is somewhat settled into his new house, but it's not yet home. The creaks are still a foreign sound, the doors are not yet memorized, the stairs have not yet been christened by the patter of hurried feet. John spends most of his time in the trees, looking out at the world like a lonely god. Gale tries her best to cheer him up. "Amy and Rory are moving up here, did you know that? They wanted a new start." She says to him over a plate of Jammie Dodgers. "We're not new." He mumbles, he stares at the ground. "I suppose they needed a change of scenery, not friends. I know, how about we throw them a welcoming party?" "Ok." It's silent in the kitchen, Gale starts grasping at straws, anything to make him talk. "You'll be starting school soon, are you excited?" She asks, he just nods. "Can I go outside?" He asks. "It's may I." Gale corrects. "__May__I go outside?" He asks sullenly, she gives a weary sigh and nods. When she hears the back door close, she shuts her eyes and massages her temples. "If this what he's like when he's eight, I can't __wait__until he's a moody teenager."

The leaves are blushing when the Freys celebrate welcoming the Williams. John is actually excited to see them, they are his favorite adults besides his mum. He bounces as he stares out the window, waiting for them. "They're late, what's taking them so long?" "They're only late by five minutes." Gale laughs. "Well, you said they live only fives minutes away, so it shouldn't take them this long!" Gale laughs again as she ruffles his hair. "Why are you so anxious to see them?" She asks, curious. "Because," he says, enough attitude to be River's sass oozing from his tone, as though he thinks she's thick, "they still visit River!" "Well, there they are, why don't you ask them?" John squints out the window. "Is there someone in the backseat?" He asks, Gale just smiles. Amy and Rory step out of the car, a small figure hops out as well. There's a flash of gold and curls. "_RIVER!_" John hollers, piercing Gale's ears and warming her heart. John is up in a flash and racing across the lawn. "River!" He yells again, River turns around to him. Her smile practically splits her face in two, she runs to meet him and launches herself into his arms. "John!" She squeals several times, John tightens his grip on her and twirls her around. Her laughter fills the air and plays on the wind. John sets her back down but trips over a tree root, they end up falling, her on top of him. Their giggles mix, the entire world forgotten. "I thought I was never gonna see you again." John says, breathless from the fall and River crushing his ribs. "I thought so too. But then I got adopted!" River sits up and moves off of him, she waves to Gale. "The Williams were the ones who wanted me after all." She beams, John smiles. "That's great! I've really missed you." "I've missed you too." River says, she punches him the arm. "Ow! What was that for?" He cries. "That was for not telling me you were moving soon enough." "Wasn't the slap enough?" He asks. "Nope." River says, her nose in the air. She smiles and launches herself into his arms again. She stands up after a while, she dusts herself off and helps John up. She doesn't let go of his hand. "Alright. Enough mushiness. Show me your house." She demands. "Bossy." He says, falling back into their comfortable teasing routine. She swings their clasped hands back and forth as they walk to the house. When they reach the door, she kisses him on the cheek. John blushes as red as the changing leaves. "What was that for?" He asks in a mumble, River shrugs, a happy smile spreading across her face. "Just 'cause. It's you and me again. Just us against the world." John's heart fills, he squeezes River's hand. "Yup, it's just you and me."


	19. Promises, Prom Misses

Promises, Prom Misses

The night has stretched on for quite a while, even the moon is yawning as a couple walks in its silvery light. "River, I'm sorry." The tall, gangly man says. "I didn't know this would happen." He finishes, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his eyes staring anxiously at the woman's impassive face. "Mmhmm." "I didn't! Slip ups do happen you know." "Mmhmm." He scowls at her and looks down at his shoes, kicking at a stray rock. "You're not being fair." He says sulkily. "Oh,__I'm__not being fair, I think I'm being more than fair!" "It was an__accident__." He insists. "I should've never let you drive." River mutters. "Oi, don't bring my driving into this, my driving is perfect." She actually snorts at that. "Doctor, because of your __driving__, we are in Hathory, the planet where dancing is, of course, illegal. We were thrown in prison, they confiscated my gun, I was doused with water for my curly hair," she stops her rant for a moment to pat her slowly drying hair. The Doctor thinks she looks absolutely adorable with her frizz, but he's smart enough to not say anything. "__And__I broke my favorite heels!" "Well I-I... I got my drink stolen!" He says, trying to one up her, and failing. She walks faster in her bare feet and throws him a glare over her shoulder. "Poor Sweetie," her sarcasm is practically palpable. "Got your drink stolen. How tragic. __I __drank your wine." "Why would you do that?" He gasps, hands on his hearts as though she'd wounded him. "Because it was particularly good wine and I hated to see you spit it on the floor." "I would never." He says, affronted. She shakes her head, silence settles between them. They come to a stop before a blue box, their Tardis. The Doctor clears his throat and laces his fingers with River's. "I really am sorry, date night wasn't supposed to end up like this." She softens, sighing as he kisses her hand. She cups his baby face with her free hand. "I know Sweetie. It's ok." Her lips twitch in a smile and pats his cheek. "Just let me drive next time." He huffs and pulls her back against his chest. She leans her head back as he kisses her shoulder. "I'll get it right, we __will __go dancing, proper dancing, next date. No running, no interruptions. Just you, me, and the music." "Promises, promises." She teases. He turns her around and kisses her soundly on the lips. She hums, and pulls him with a yank into the Tardis.

"Good morning everybody." River says to her sleepy audience. "Morning Professor." Comes their mumbled reply. She turns to the wall's chalkboard, pushing the sliding screen to the side. "Today, we're starting on the-" she stops. Students titter. On the board, where River's lecture points were supposed to be written, there was a note scrawled in blue-colored chalk. "Crazy hot professor, it's date night. Bring your dancing shoes, leave the gun."

"Sweetie. No." River says. "Yes." The Doctor says, a gleam in his eyes and a boyish grin on his lips. "No!" "Please?" "I'm not going in there." "You're the one who was so set upon dancing." He reminds her. "I didn't mean I wanted to crash some high school's _prom_." She hisses between her teeth. He scoffs. "Crashing is practically our thing." "Well, we're not crashing this. Especially as I didn't even crash my own." She mutters, the Doctor's face falls a bit. "You never went to prom?" She sighs. "Didn't want to. Rory and Amy were sure to be sucking face the whole time, and those dresses weren't for me. I was busy anyway." He notices her beautiful eyes are darkened with the memories she won't speak of, and he knows it's more than that. "Training?" He asks weakly, she smirks and pulls at his ever present braces. "Well, it most certainly wasn't because I couldn't find a date." He huffs at that, she fixes his bow tie. "Just one dance?" He asks. "Everyone needs to have a story about dancing at prom, even the illustrious Professor River Song." She kisses him. He flails, taken aback, before he enthusiastically responds. They fall into the bushes, a prom passes them by.

They're dancing, well, swaying in the high school's gym. A sweeping janitor is their only audience, his out of tune whistling their music. River's heels are in her hand, digging into the Doctor's back. He doesn't complain. His bow tie hangs limply down his shirt, skin peeps out of the half-unbuttoned cloth. River's lipstick long since smeared off, her curls mussed, a puff of gold. She looks beautiful, sparkling in the multicolored light scattered from a tired disco ball. "You're twinkly." He murmurs in her ear, her arms tighten round his neck. "Flatterer. You've already gotten lucky, mister. There's no need for such pretty words." He smiles. "I am lucky." He agrees. "And don't you forget it." He laughs and pulls back a bit to bop her nose. She lightly nips his finger. "You're so shameless." "Mm." She hums in contentment. "So, how did you like your first prom?" "It was...unexpected." "But you liked it?" She kisses him lightly on his chin. "I did." He grins smugly and bounces lightly on his toes. "I knew it!" She tugs lightly at the hair on his neck. "Don't spoil the mood." He chuckles and squishes her slightly in his arms. "River," he says softer. "We missed most of this prom, well, except for all those students needing to puke in the bushes," she laughs, a happy sound that fills up his chest and curls up there. "But-well-" "Husband, spit it out." "Yes, wife. Wife?" "Mhm?" "You're my prom queen." She kisses him, she tastes of terrible, cheap, probably spiked fruit punch and happiness. He sighs as they pull apart to breathe. "So I take it I'm your prom king?" He asks, his eyes light and teasing. "Yes. Now shut up and dance with me." "Bossy." "You love it." "Hmph. I can be the boss too, you know." "Of course you can." "I can! I'll prove it." "Promises, promises."


	20. Only If For A Night

Only If For A Night

The stars are shining, stark against the pitch black of space, all seems still. Except for one floppy-haired man who goes by the name Doctor and is perched underneath the floor of his Tardis, tinkering. He mumbles as he works, preferring any sound to overflow the deafening nothingness of silence. "It's just you and me tonight, Old Girl." He taps the glass panels lightly with a wrench, the orange of the Tardis's lights seem to glow warmer. "We should really redecorate you." The Tardis doesn't respond, the Doctor sighs. "Not tonight." He yawns, a fist covers his mouth as he stretches. "Not tonight." He murmurs again. His eyelids grow heavier, they flutter shut... And jerk open again in a start, because the Tardis has landed with a jarring thump, causing the Doctor to fall unceremoniously on his rear. With a frown, he stands up and walks to the monitor. "We weren't flying, Old Girl. Where've you taken me?" The screen stays blank. He huffs and walks to the doors, throwing a glare over his shoulder at the offending console. "Fine." He opens the door, eyes squinting as a glaring light bursts through. When his eyes adjust, he simply stares. The Tardis had taken him to Luna University. "No no no. I don't want to be here. I will __not__be here. You take me away right now, before I see..." He drifts off, as he finds what he was trying his hardest not to. A woman, her hair glittering gold in the sunlight, her pink dress making her look almost innocent, though the Doctor knows she's anything but. "River." It comes out strangled, not a word, but a __yearning__. "River." He says again. His legs react of their own accord, weaving around hurrying students, dodging the fast and flustered. She turns as he approaches. One smile and he's done for. He throws his arms around her legs, close to her bum, and spins her around, high enough to be off the ground but low enough to not to catch the attention of anyone else. She laughs, a musical note of surprise, catching the attention of everyone anyway. He doesn't mind. "Doctor." She says as he puts her down. "River." They're both smiling, not quite breathless, but almost. He kisses her. She tastes the same. He tries not to cry. She pulls away first, her knuckle lightly running down his cheek. "Hello Sweetie." She knows him enough to know he likes that greeting, he realizes, but she doesn't quite understand why. It sounds different, a passing fancy on her tongue. He smiles, she laughs again and turns around, grabbing his hand. She chatters about when she last saw him and classes and what they're going to do today, he grins and blushes like a schoolboy when she says something particularly naughty. Internally, he weeps.

"Well, what do you think?" "No." "River, you're not being very nice. I happen to like this outfit, it's new." "No." The Doctor pouts. "I'm wearing it." "You are. But if you _should_, that's another thing entirely." "Why shouldn't I?" He asks, indignant, and River huffs in exasperation. "For one thing, this grass is very green." "And?" "_And_, your suit is white." "Hmph. I think I look rather dashing." "Of course Sweetie, but it's not very practical, especially as you have a tendency to trip." "Since when have you been so practical? And I do not have a tendency to trip!" "Yes dear." "Fine, I'll show you." The Doctor turns an awkward cartwheel, long limbs flying, though he doesn't fall. River claps twice sarcastically, he bows. "In your honor." "Such an act of skill, you talented man, who never, ever trips." She dead pans. He scowls and plops down next to her on their shared blanket. "When did I ever ask for your endless stream of sass?" "When you married me, Sweetie." He smiles and bops her nose. "I suppose so." He kisses her. She tastes of the strawberries they'd picked earlier that day. She hums, pulls away from him and pats his cheek. "I get the last of the strawberries." She declares. "You wish." "I'll bet you for it." "What are you betting?" The Doctor asks, a competitive gleam in his eyes. "I bet I can hold a longer handstand than you." He wrinkles his forehead, bemused. "Why handstands?" River fakes a sigh. "Well, if you can't do it." "Now hold on one strawberry-picking minute! I'll take that bet, and I'll win!" They spend the rest of the afternoon laughing, doing handstands, so happy they don't realize the rocks they occasionally trip over are actually gravestones.

The Doctor coughs, a scarf over his mouth and nose, and yet it can't filter out the smoke. He should have never visited this planet. He had stopped at the Incends for their fiery red crystals, but he'd landed in a time of war. With the Tardis captured and people dying all around him, there was only one solution, to stand and fight. And he had done so well, until he was captured and tied up with his sonic confiscated. And then things got worse. The building he was being held in was set aflame and he was left behind. When he had finally gotten himself free of the ties binding him, everything's on fire and he couldn't find his way out.

He's getting weaker, his breaths shallow and burning his lungs. He's slumped against a fallen desk, alone and defeated. He's almost asleep when hears __her__voice, clear as day. "Doctor, wake up." "River?" He rasps her name, confused. "But you're-you're not here." "Don't concentrate on me, concentrate on getting out of here." "I lost my sonic." "I'll help you. Come, Doctor. Follow me." Her figure is shimmering and bright, easily seen through the dark and smoke. The Doctor crawls on his hands and knees, following her light. He crawls through a door, fire licks the walls around him and heats his face. "River!" He calls desperately, having lost sight of her. "I'm here Sweetie." Her voice is calming, she's shining so brightly, it's as if she's the only light in the room. She hovers close to him as he makes his way out of the flames, disappearing when he reaches the glorious, fresh air. He staggers when he finally gets a safe distance away from the burning building. He collapses, exhausted, and yet he still tries to get up. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" River's concerned voice asks. He looks up in relief at her. "River, you have to help me get the rest of the people out!" "The building was evacuated." "But not everyone could have made it out. I almost didn't, and I wasn't the only prisoner." "You can't go back in there, you can't even stand as it is." "Please. Help them." He coughs as he pleads with her, she bites her lip. "I'll check the building again. Don't go anywhere." He almost makes a quip about how he can't anyway, but he's too content to gaze at her face in the dark. She wavers out of sight. He waits, too hyped up on adrenaline to sleep, too exhausted not to.

"Hello Sweetie." River's heavenly voice whispers in the ear of the dozing Doctor. His eyes flicker open, he smiles weakly. "River Song. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." She smiles back, her eyes crinkle at the corners. His eyes tear, it might be from the smoke. "Everyone got out, my love." He sighs, his face relaxing, his body sagging again. "Sleep, Doctor." "Stay." He begs. The smile still lingering on her lips turns into a wince. "I'm not really here, Sweetie." "Stay." He murmurs still. "Alright. Only for tonight." He whispers to her in Gallifreyan once, she blinks out of sight for a moment, coming back with a blush sprinkled on her cheeks. She hums quietly as the Doctor starts falling into slumber. He dreams of her touch.

"What's wrong?" "Nothing." "River, you're pouting." "Am not." The Doctor pokes her cheek. She smacks his hand away, but the faintest of smiles dimples her face. "What is it?" She flips on her other side, her back facing him. He rolls his eyes at his young River. Drama queen. She sighs, he ignores it. She sighs louder, he says nothing. She flips over to face him again. She sighs, loud and long. He finally acknowledges her, grinning, his head propped up on a fist. "My darling, tell me what all this sighing's about." She swats his arm at his mocking seriousness, making his head fall from his hand. "Tell me." He asks sincerely. River sighs, again, fingers plucking at the hem of her shirt. She mumbles something incoherently. "What?" "How do you do it?" "Do what?" "We saw him today." "Yes." "And you know he was going to die." "Yes." "How are you so...normal, to the ghost of his history?" He smiles gently. "Because, he wasn't a ghost then, he was alive." "But you know he wouldn't be alive for long. "You can't change history. I've tried." "I know." Her brow furrows as she searches for the words she wants. "But it's like seeing a ghost, because even though they're living and breathing right then, you know exactly when and how they die." "You are just a ray of sunshine tonight, aren't you?" She laughs a little, breaking the gloom of the topic. The Doctor hopes she forgets it. She doesn't. "How do you do it? Act like they're not dead, when you know they are at some point." "Everyone dies, but when they're alive, they're _alive_. So you appreciate the time with them and remember it's precious." She's silent for a moment, now playing with his undone bow tie. "Am I a ghost to you, Doctor?" His hearts drop. "You're here right now." "That's not answering my question." "No. You're not." She seems satisfied with that and snuggles into him, he stares off into nowhere as she drifts off to sleep. "Doctor?" She asks, her voice a sleepy afterthought. "Go to sleep River." He says gently. "In a minute. Before, were you- Rule Number One?" He's quiet for a moment, River feels lips on her forehead. "No." She falls asleep, his eyes shut, but he doesn't sleep at all.

The Doctor wakes up still under the Tardis floor, in his swing. His hearts are clenched painfully, he wonders why. Flashes of pink and gold and graveyards flicker behind his eyelids, but it doesn't make sense. The Tardis is whirring, making a terrible grinding sound. The Doctor groans, irritated from the feeling of forgetting something important. He twists some of the wires, trying to make the horrible noise stop. It gets louder and louder and he's pulling and twisting, suddenly everything shuts off. He growls in frustration, he pulls his sonic out. It serves as a flashlight, but it helps nothing. He curses under his breath. He slowly makes his was to the Tardis console. "Turn on voice interface. No companions." An image is projected, he pales. "No." He sees the perfect boing-y-ness of her curls. "No." He sees the blaster on the belt at her hip. "No." No expression in that projected face, no smirk or flirty grin or that look she gets when she's thought of something truly filthy. "Someone else. Not River. I can't-" "I am not River Song, I am a voice interface." "Well I don't want you to have that face, you __can't have__that face! That's River's face and only hers." "I am not River Song, I am a voice interface." "Get rid of it!" It changes the projection into himself, he turns away. Shuts his eyes. Flashes of pink, of stones, of a bright and shining light. "Bring her back." Curls greet him again. It almost lifts the frowning of his mouth. He rubs his eyes with his palms, something warms them, silvery in the grainy light of a ghost. A sob. "Hello...Sweetie." "I am not River Song, I am a voice interface." His hand shakes, hovering near hers. It passes through. "Hi honey. I'm home." "I am not River Song, I am a voice interface."

"I am not River Song, I am a voice interface."


End file.
